Milner breaks Premier League appearance record

James Milner has broken the Premier League appearance record in Brighton‘s game at Brentford‘s Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The 40-year-old former England midfielder was named in Fabian Hurzeler’s starting XI for his 654th Premier League match, beating the record set by Gareth Barry.

Milner equalled the record in the game at Aston Villa, a club he represented from 2008 to 2010, on Wednesday, 11 February.

Brighton boss Hurzeler told BBC Match of the Day that Milner is a “role model on and off the pitch”.

Hurzeler added: “There’s no surprise why he’s where he is at the moment – because he has such great discipline.

“He has such a great effort every day and he is never satisfied.

“It’s a great day for him to show us again why he is the record-holder regarding the Premier League games.”

Many Brighton fans have been critical of boss Hurzeler’s decision to bring Milner on late in games this season, the accusation being it is purely to help him to the record and not to aid the team.

Last season he featured just four times in the league.

Barry, who was Milner’s team-mate at Villa and City for 134 of their 653 games, has held the record since September 2017.

Milner, who won 61 caps for England, won the Premier League title twice with Manchester City and once with Liverpool.

He also won the FA Cup and the League Cup with both clubs – plus the Champions League with the Reds.