'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAOAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABwIG/9oACAEBAAAAAA6k3Nf/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/9oACAECEAAAAB//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC/9oACAEDEAAAAF//xAAgEAACAQQDAAMAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEBRESABMhBjLj/9oACAEBAAE/ALlZorbVwUhMYjqUHY7sW0ZTk4I+vJPi0KyMvehwSMiZeNaoJ7XCbjTwJEoBklgG0o8zgbeHZvCT7rye1B55GNOoyxPlR+fP/8QAFxEBAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQADEf/aAAgBAgEBPwAtNSf/xAAWEQADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARH/2gAIAQMBAT8AqP/Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Since its inception in 1992, the Premier League has witnessed 49 clubs taking part with Huddersfield Town and Brighton Hove & Albion becoming the latest entry into the list. More than 12,000 players have been part of the league with more than 260 of them winning the coveted title.
The Premier League has seen 38 players breaking into the 400 appearances mark with Everton's Leighton Baines being the last entry into the list. 12 players have gone on to break the 500 appearances mark while only 3 have managed to break into the 600 appearances mark.
Here we look at 5 players who are still active in the league with the most appearances in the league.
5. Aaron Lennon - 368
The man who had to battle severe mental depression before reviving his career with Burnley, Aaron Lennon is a role model for several footballers suffering from depression. The winger has been around for 15 long years starting his career with Leeds in 2003.
Aaron Lennon made his Leeds debut on the August 23, 2003 against Tottenham Hotspur, aged 16 and 165 days becoming the then youngest ever Premier League player. The winger spent 2 seasons with his boyhood club Leeds, a season in the Premier League and the next in the Championship, before financial problems caused the club to sell the winger to Tottenham in 2005.
An absolute legend of Tottenham Hotspur, Aaron Lennon spent 10 years at Tottenham winning his only piece of silverware and Tottenham's last piece of silverware, the League Cup 2007-08. Poor form and reluctance of manager's to pick Lennon in the matchday squad saw the winger moving to Everton 2015 after spending the 2014-15 season on loan at the Merseyside.
The 4 seasons at Goodison Park saw renewed life to Aaron Lennon with the winger starting his career at the Merseyside with impressive performances. It was rather short-lived as Roberto Martinez was fired and Ronaldo Koeman took the reins from the Spaniard.
Under Koeman, Lennon battled with depression after winger struggled with form and the former Dutch freekick specialist dropped the Englishman from the squad. The winger after almost a year battling depression made a move to Burnley in 2018.
The 31-year old is now a part of the Sean Dyche's team and was quite impressive in Burnley's impressive 7th place finish last year. Aaron Lennon till date has made 368 Premier League appearances (11 for Leeds, 266 for Tottenham, 65 for Everton and 26 for Burnley) and has 34 league goals and 50 assists to his name.
4. Leighton Baines - 410
Unlike Aaron Lennon, Leighton Baines started his footballing career in the Second division of English Football with Wigan Athletic in 2001, debuting for the club in 2002. The defender had to spend his first 4 years after turning professional in the First and Second division of England. The defender made 73 appearances in the lower leagues, winning the second division title in 2002-03 season, before making his first ever Premier League appearance.
Leighton Baines made his first ever Premier League appearance on 14th of August 2005 against Chelsea in Wigan's first match of the season. Baines was part of the first ever Wigan team that took part in major final when the Latics faced Manchester United in the 2006 League Cup Final.
Leighton Baines after 5 seasons with Wigan joined the blue half of Merseyside in 2007 after reportedly rejecting Sunderland. The left-back made his Everton debut on September 1, 2007 against Bolton Wanderers. The former Wigan man found it hard to break into the first team during his debut season with the Merseysiders after Phill Jagielka, Joseph Yobo and Joleon Lescott kept out the Liverpool-born Baines from the starting XI.
The second season saw Baines being a regular with the Everton first team after Nigerian Joseph Yobo struggled with injuries, scoring his first ever Premier League goal for Everton the very same season. The left-back has to date spent 11 seasons with the Merseysiders with this season being the 12th one.
Even though the defender has no silverware to show for his Evertonian career, Baines was thrice awarded Everton Players' Player of the Season award and twice Everton Player of the Season and was named twice on the PFA Team of the Year.
The 33-year old has till date 410 appearances (72 for Wigan and 338 for Everton), 35th in the all-time appearance maker list, and has 34 goals and 53 assists to his name.
3. Petr Cech - 443
One of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, Petr Cech is an absolute beast between the sticks. Unlike all the other names on the list, Cech is the only non-British player in the list and is the 4th highest non-British appearance maker on the list after Mark Schwarzer, Sylvain Distin and Brad Friedel.
Petr Cech made his debut in 1999 for his native club Chmel Blsany spending 2 seasons with the club before moving to Czech giants Sparta Prague in 2001. A season with Sparta was followed by a move to France with Ligue 1 club Stade Rennes capturing the signature of the shot-stopper.
Two seasons with the French side was followed by a move to the Blue side of London with Chelsea signing the big Czech in 2004, becoming the most expensive Chelsea goalkeeper then. Cech had a big slice of luck at Chelsea during his debut season as a club legend and first team shot-stopper Carlo Cudicini had to miss the start of the season with injury prompting new manager Jose Mourinho to start with the Czech keeper.
Cech ousted Cudicini with a quite a number of impressive displays as he set a then Premier League record of 1025 minutes without conceding in his debut season.
Cech made his debut on the August 15, 2004 against Manchester United in front of the home crowd in Stamford Bridge. He went on to win the Premier League retaining it the very next season before the Czech sustained a head injury in the 2006-07 season against Reading, returning in January with his iconic headgear.
The goalkeeper went on to win all the prices on offer in the club football level, except for Club World Cup, spending 11 seasons at the Bridge winning 13 major honours with the club before parting with it to join Arsenal in the 2015/16 season.
Cech made his Premier League debut for Arsenal on the 9th of August 2015 as the Gunners lost 2-0 to rivals West Ham. The keeper still continues with Arsenal in his 4th season with the club but with the arrival of German, Bernd Leno, Emery seems to be finally overlooking the great Czech.
Petr Cech has made a total of 443 Premier League appearances (333 for Chelsea and 110 for Arsenal) and is leading goalkeeper with the most clean sheets in the league with 202.
2. Jermain Defoe - 496
One of the greatest goal scorers the Premier League has ever seen, Jermaine Defoe has been around for a long time in the League. The active player with the highest number of goals in the league, Defoe has made a combined total of 496 appearances for 5 different teams in 19 seasons in the Premier League.
Jermaine Defoe made his first ever Premier League debut on the final day (May 19) of the 2000/01 season coming off from the bench in the 68th minute in place of Svetoslav Todorov against Middlesborough after the young Defoe made a big impression during his loan time with Bournemouth. The next season saw the striker nailing his position in the first team as Defoe finished the season as West Ham's top scorer.
Defoe spent 4 years at West Ham before joining Tottenham Hotspur in 2004 after spending half a season in the Championship with West Ham, after the Hammers were relegated in the 2002/03 season. Defoe scored 7 league goals in 15 appearances in his debut season for Tottenham.
He spent almost 11 seasons with Tottenham in two spells (2003-2008 and 2009-2014, January) with the club after the striker went on to join Portsmouth in the 2007/08 season before coming back to Spurs in 2008/09 season.
A year in MLS soon followed for Defoe before rejoining the Premier League with Sunderland in 2014-15 season spending 3 seasons with the Black Cats. Defoe joined his present club, Bournemouth, after the Black Cats were relegated at the end of 2016/27 season prompting the striker to join the club where he made his first big impression in football on a free.
The 36-year old striker till date has 496 appearances (74 for West Ham, 276 for Tottenham Hotspur, 31 for Portsmouth, 87 for Sunderland and 28 for Bournemouth), the all-time 15th highest appearance maker in the Premier League. Jermain Defoe is 7th in the list of all-time goalscorers with 162 goals, a single goal behind Liverpool and Premier League legend Robbie Fowler, and has 33 assists to his name.
1.James Milner - 498
It is said that wine gets better with age, so has been the career of the Liverpool midfielder. James Milner has had a 16-year long Premier League career playing for 5 different Premier League clubs making a total of 498 appearances, the 14th highest appearance maker in the league and the active player with the most appearances.
James Milner made his first ever Premier League appearance on the November 10, 2006 coming on as a Leeds player aged 16, the then second youngest ever player in the Premier League, against West Ham United, coming on as a substitute for Jason Wilcox in the 84th minute.
Milner also has the record of being the second youngest goalscorer in the Premier League when he scored against Sunderland on the 26th of December 2002. James Milner spent 2 years at Elland road before financial problems and relegation caused Leeds downfall.
Milner joined Newcastle in 2004 spent 4 seasons with the Toons scoring the 500th home goal for the Toons before joining Aston Villa in 2008 after giving a transfer request. 2 seasons at Villa Park saw some impressive performances from the Englishman with the midfielder being named in the PFA Player's team of the Year and the PFA Young Player of the Year.
Milner joined the Manchester City bandwagon in 2010 joining former Villa team-mate Gareth Barry in the midfield. The 5 seasons at City saw James Milner winning his first piece of silverware, the 2010-11 FA Cup. The Englishman ended his Manchester City career with 2 Premier League titles, 1 League Cup and 1 FA Cup before moving to Liverpool on a free.
James Milner joined Liverpool in 2015. He has been the go-to man for any situations for Jurgen Klopp with the Leeds born midfielder being employed in the centre and either side of the midfield and as a left back at times during the injury situations.
The 32-year old James Milner has till date 498 Premier League appearances (48 for Leeds, 88 for Newcastle, 100 for Aston Villa, 147 for Manchester City and 109 for Liverpool), 50 league goals and 80 assists to his name, the all-time 7th highest assist maker.
