JAMES MILNER'S 23 SEASON !
James Milner’s rare longevity
James Milner has started his 23rd season in the English Premier League (with Brighton), breaking thus Ryan Giggs’ record of 22 seasons in EPL.
If we consider the entire history of the English top division from its foundation in 1888, Milner occupies 4th place in the ranking of «long-lived» players, conceding only to Stanley Matthews (25), Peter Shilton (24) and just mentioned Giggs (24) who appeared also in 2 seasons before the top flight rebranding.
For Matthews, the 1939–40 season, abandoned after 3 starting rounds, is included in his tally. The WW2 impeded him to move his record to even more impressive figure. His career in top tier spanned incredible 32 seasons.
Giggs owns all-time record for consecutive seasons in top flight (24), with Milner having now just 1 season fewer.
In the right column of the table, the seasons listed for each player are marked by their ending years.
Quite curiously, Milner has now played in EPL under coaches born 60 years apart: Bobby Robson, his coach in Newcastle in few games in 2004 (born in 1933), and Fabian Hürzeler, his current coach in Brighton (born in 1993).
| ENGLAND | TOP | DIVISION | |
| PLAYERS | WITH | MOST SEASONS | |
| Player | Seasons | Career in D1 | |
| 1 | Stanley Matthews | 25 | 1934-1940, 1947-1962, 1964-1965 |
| 2 | Peter Shilton | 24 | 1966-1969, 1972-1991 |
| 3 | Ryan Giggs | 24 | 1991-2014 |
| 4 | James Milner | 23 | 2003-2025 |
| 5 | Pat Jennings | 21 | 1965-1985 |
| 6 | Gareth Barry | 21 | 1998-2018 |
| 7 | Steve Bloomer | 20 | 1893-1910, 1913-1914 |
| 8 | Bob Crompton | 20 | 1897-1915, 1920 |
| 9 | Alan Ball Jr. | 20 | 1963-1977, 1979-1983 |
| 10 | John Hollins | 20 | 1964-1983 |
| 11 | Bryan Robson | 20 | 1977-1994, 1996-1997 |
| 12 | Frank Lampard Jr. | 20 | 1996-2015 |
| 13 | Rio Ferdinand | 20 | 1996-2015 |