Fluminense keeper Fabio breaks Shilton appearance record

According to his club Fluminense, Brazilian goalkeeper Fabio Deivson Lopes Maciel has broken Peter Shilton’s record for most competitive appearances in world football, according to his team.

The 44-year-old defeated America de Cali 2-0 at the Maracana in their match of the Copa Sudamericana, the South American equivalent of the Europa League, in his 1, 391st appearance.

Fabio made his professional debut in 1997, and he has since represented Brazil’s Uniao Bandeirante, Atletico Paranaense, Vasco da Gama, Cruzeiro, and Fluminense.

Between 2005 and 2022, he made 150 for Vasco da Gama and 30 for Uniao Bandeirante, making the majority of his appearances at Cruzeiro (976).

His 235th appearance for Fluminense was his record-breaking Tuesday outing.

Shilton claimed to have played 1, 387 games (three less) than the record-holder, but the Guinness Book of Records lists him as having made 1, 390.

However, despite winning the Under-19 World Cup in 1997 and never playing for his country, Fabio is only now recognized by his club as the undisputed record holder after surpassing the 1, 390 tally.

The precise number Fabio was pursuing was questioned.

Shilton, age 75, is credited with having made 1, 249 appearances for his club and a record-breaking 125 for England, which equals his total appearances of 1, 374.

According to England Football Online, Shilton has 13 caps for the number of games he believes he has played for the Under-23s.

Before and after the game in Brazil, Fabio was hailed by the fans and the club in a shirt with a special patch to mark the occasion.

“I have to thank everyone who has touched my life, including my wife, my mother, my sisters, my father,” I said. He said, “I make an effort to be a good person.”

“It’s important to assist my team-mates,” he said. I appreciate God, but that’s not how it would exist without Him.

In the final against Boca Juniors, Fabio defeated Boca Juniors, who had previously won the Copa Libertadores.

As Fluminense advanced to the semi-finals but was defeated by eventual winners Chelsea, he also started all six games at the Club World Cup.

With his record-breaking 507th clean sheet, he overcame former Italy international Gianluigi Buffon to become the first player to do so at the tournament in the United States.

BBC Sport reporter Mani Djazmi

As Kalidou Koulibaly’s celebrations slowed to a halt, Simone Inzaghi watched intently as it passed.

A 44-year-old man was trying to rebound from a heavy landing by defying the thump.

The lithe goalkeeper of Fluminense was Fabio. In Flu’s quarter-final victory against Al-Hilal, he had just pulled off one of the Club World Cup’s saves by swinging Koulibaly’s powerful, angled header past the post with his left hand.

In his 28-year career, Fabio only had 16 teammates born after his professional debut, making Fluminense his fifth club.

His only international successes came last century when he defeated Ronaldinho to win the 1997 Under-17s World Cup and advanced to the under-20 version’s semi-finals two years later.

Julio Cesar, who later won the Champions League with Inter Milan and whom Fabio could never get rid of from the national team, was his backup at the time.

However, Julio Cesar, who is one year older than Fabio, retired in 2018.

In addition, Fabio played 5, 850 games of football starting in July 2024, according to the CIES Football Observatory. That’s more games than any keeper has ever played in a calendar year, on average, 65.