A look at why James Milner's place in the Premier League history books is assured

[p][a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/3A7EAg4ULde9qUvEAv0eBw?si=PFcI66ZISJe4uzX_B_IXhw"][b]Listen to this article on Spotify here.[/b][/a][/p][p]The now 40-year-old began his journey at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/leeds/tUxUbLR2/"]Leeds United[/a], his hometown club, in the 2002/03 Premier League campaign, and ended it at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brighton/2XrRecc3/"]Brighton[/a] after making a record 658 EPL appearances.[/p][h2]Versatile and hard-working[/h2][p]Aside from a short loan at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/swindon/xSloasB8/"]Swindon Town[/a] back in 2003, he also served [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/newcastle-utd/p6ahwuwJ/"]Newcastle United[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/aston-villa/W00wmLO0/"]Aston Villa[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]Man City[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/liverpool/lId4TMwf/"]Liverpool[/a] with aplomb, and seamlessly converted from a winger to a midfielder and also to a full-back.[/p][p]Moreover, he played each role with the same tenacity and willingness, despite his advancing years, and that's chiefly why he is so beloved by supporters of the clubs he played for.[/p][embed guid="c34641f1-3641-4266-afb8-e6d86fd56b42" url="https://x.com/OfficialBHAFC/status/2061370969726578875" social-type="twitter" /][p]Villa, City and Liverpool are the only clubs where he played 100+ league games, with his time at Anfield (2015-2023, 230 league games played, 135 started) being the longest he spent at one club. [/p][p]Only nine more players have turned out for more than [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/milner-james/QLY3kAEt/"]Milner[/a]'s six different clubs in the Premier League era, and, uniquely, he's the only EPL player to date who has played at least one game in 24 consecutive seasons, which is another record that's likely to stand the test of time.[/p][h2]Third youngest scorer... and second oldest in EPL history[/h2][p]He did hold the record for the youngest scorer in the EPL when he netted for Leeds against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sunderland/WSzc94ws/"]Sunderland[/a] back in December 2002, aged just 16 years and 356 days, though that has since been broken.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/everton/KluSTr9s/"]Everton[/a]'s James Vaughan became the new record holder in April 2005 after scoring against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/crystal-palace/AovF1Mia/"]Crystal Palace[/a] aged 16 years and 270 days, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a]'s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/max-dowman/WzLvGkGO/"]Max Dowman[/a] taking the crown after he scored in March 2026 against the Toffees aged 16 years and 73 days.[/p][embed guid="640e9ab5-2ac5-48c9-ad09-1c41cf3370e3" url="https://x.com/OptaJoe/status/2061371944243495208" social-type="twitter" /][p]At the opposite end of the age spectrum, Milner's goal for Brighton against former club Man City in August 2025 ensured he became the second-oldest scorer in Premier League history at 39 years and 239 days old. [/p][p]Only [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sheringham-teddy/0zPhW7Gq/"]Teddy Sheringham[/a] is ahead of him, after he scored for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/west-ham/Cxq57r8g/"]West Ham[/a] against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/portsmouth/zckREQFJ/"]Portsmouth[/a] aged 40 years and 268 days in December 2006.[/p][p]Sheringham is also the only player to have made more starts (seven) than Milner's five as a Premier League player in their forties.[/p][h2]2009/10 was his best campaign[/h2][p]Whilst at Villa, the 2009/10 season was a particular highlight for Milner. He started every one of the 36 games he played in the English top-flight, amassing 3,174 minutes, the most in one season across his career.[/p][p]It was also during that campaign that he managed the most goal contributions of his time at the top, with seven goals (equalling his best output) and 12 assists, giving him a collective 19 contributions.[/p][embed guid="eb6a8b45-81c2-47cc-8c90-cbd8545d572b" url="https://x.com/Flashscorecom/status/2025224273435001092" social-type="twitter" /][p]The only other season in which he scored seven came in 2016/17 when at Liverpool, but only three assists gave him 10 goal contributions in total. That was still his fifth-best return, however.[/p][p]His first season at Anfield in 2015/16 was also particularly fruitful for Milner, as his five goals and 11 assists gave him a second-best return across his career of 16 goal contributions.[/p][h2]More assists than [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/beckham-david/S0VmZ6TT/"]David Beckham[/a][/h2][p]With 90 assists in total across his 24 seasons, he actually has 10 more than the much more celebrated David Beckham, and had he managed just five more before retirement, he would've edged ahead of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gerrard-steven/SErvzq6h/"]Steven Gerrard[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/silva-david/AkZ0qF2q/"]David Silva[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bergkamp-dennis/hbLChHP8/"]Dennis Bergkamp[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/salah-mohamed/08FBycgB/"]Mo Salah[/a] in the all-time list.[/p][p]Of those 90 assists, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/roberto-firmino/CCNtplZe/"]Roberto Firmino[/a] was the only player to reach double figures, the 10 which the Englishman provided to the Brazilian being four more than the six given to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mane-sadio/xxskxOU0/"]Sadio Mane[/a], who is placed second in this particular metric.[/p][p]Milner also holds the record for the most players assisted (47), underscoring his all-round excellence.[/p][embed guid="20a8a795-910a-4164-b29a-1e5f5ceb11f6" url="https://x.com/OptaJoe/status/1982410124275933350" social-type="twitter" /][p]Given his longevity, it shouldn't really come as any surprise that Milner also holds the record, perhaps unwanted, as the player with the most substitute appearances in the Premier League era (218).[/p][p]During those, he still managed to score 13 goals, with only eight other players (all strikers) scoring more as a sub: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/crouch-peter/zZnYVvzU/"]Peter Crouch[/a] (16), [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sturridge-daniel/fwlDnzTg/"]Daniel Sturridge[/a] (17), [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/solskjaer-ole-gunnar/bmlavhkb/"]Ole Gunnar Solskjaer[/a] (17), Kanu (17), [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/welbeck-danny/86PvpO11/"]Danny Welbeck[/a] (19), [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/chicharito/O0EKKpNQ/"]Chicharito[/a] (19), [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/giroud-olivier/AJPBp2as/"]Olivier Giroud[/a] (21) and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/defoe-jermain/QDtjHrsH/"]Jermain Defoe[/a] (24).[/p][h2]The consummate professional[/h2][p]For any player to still be selected in what is often referred to as the most physically demanding league in the world in their 40s is a testament to Milner's absolute professionalism.[/p][embed guid="e38e9a4b-1138-4315-a755-d09f0f3de635" url="https://x.com/LFC/status/2061372192890499545" social-type="twitter" /][p]As the game evolves and the demands on players change, it's difficult to imagine anyone even coming close to equalling or even surpassing his record.[/p][p]That his name will therefore live long in the memories of fans of English football is undoubtedly the accolade that Milner himself will be most proud of.[/p][image alt="Jason Pettigrove" id="d2e335cb-5fa4-4ffe-8a9f-dd2ce0dde5df" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="90e53295-a29d-4f5c-957b-1ac0de798ae7" original-width="1200" original-height="380" /]