List of men's footballers with the most official appearances

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peter Shilton holds the record for the most competitive appearances in world football.
Roberto Carlos holds the record among outfield players.

This is a list of the footballers who have played at least 1,000 official football matches at all age levels: regarding junior levels, only the matches with national teams are counted, because such data for club levels cannot be found for the majority of the players.

The current active player with the most official appearances is Paul Bastock with 1284 appearances, primarily across the English lower leagues, who is also the active goalkeeper with the most official appearances, and Cristiano Ronaldo is the active outfield player with the most official appearances, and 4th of all time among the outfield players.

Goalkeepers' career on average spans longer and so they play more matches on average, as they face fewer physical challenges than outfield players.[1][2]

Ranking[]

As of 10:00, 18 August 2021 (UTC)
Position's key
G Goalkeeper
D Defender
M Midfielder
F Forward
Bold indicates the player is currently active.
+ indicates that the actual number may be higher.
Rank Player Pos. Apps Goals Years Career span Teams Apps Ref.
1 England Peter Shilton G 1,387[3] 1 31 1966–1997 England Leicester City 348 [4]
[5]
England Stoke City 121
England Nottingham Forest 272
England Southampton 242
England Derby County 211
England Plymouth Argyle 43
England Bolton Wanderers 2
England Leyton Orient 10
England England 125
England England U23 13
2 England Paul Bastock G 1,284 0 33 1988– England Cambridge United 12 [6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
England Bath City 1
England Fisher Athletic 28
England Kettering Town 27
England Aylesbury United 5
England Boston United 678
England Dagenham & Redbridge 1
England St Albans City 315
England Rushden & Diamonds 22
England Worksop Town 41
England Royston Town 13
England St Neots Town 39
England Dunstable Town 30
England Stamford 25
England Corby Town 9
England Wisbech Town 35
England Grantham Town 2
England King's Lynn Town 1
3 Brazil Rogério Ceni G 1,234 129 25 1990–2015 Brazil Sinop 20 [10]
[11]
[12]
Brazil São Paulo 1,197
Brazil Brazil 17
4 Brazil Roberto Carlos D 1,138 132 23 1990–2012
2015
Brazil União São João 66 [13]
Brazil Palmeiras 162
Italy Inter Milan 34
Spain Real Madrid 527
Turkey Fenerbahçe 104
Brazil Corinthians 61
Russia Anzhi Makhachkala 28
India Delhi Dynamos 3
Brazil Brazil 125
Brazil Brazil Olympic team 23
Brazil Brazil U20 5
Brazil Fábio G 0 24 1997– Brazil União Bandeirante 23 [14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
Brazil Atlético Paranaense 16
Brazil Vasco da Gama 150
Brazil Cruzeiro 936
Brazil Brazil U20 5
Brazil Brazil U17 6
Brazil Brazil U15 2
6 Spain Xavi M 1,136 138 22 1997–2019 Spain Barcelona B 61 [19]
[20]
Spain Barcelona 767
Qatar Al Sadd 117
Spain Spain 133
Spain Spain U23 6
Spain Spain U21 26
Spain Spain U20 6
Spain Spain U18 10
Spain Spain U17 10
7 Italy Gianluigi Buffon G 1,130 0 26 1995– Italy Parma 220 [21]
Italy Juventus 685
France Paris Saint-Germain 25
Italy Italy 176
Italy Italy U23 4
Italy Italy U21 11
Italy Italy U18 3
Italy Italy U17 3
Italy Italy U16 3
8 Spain Iker Casillas G 1,119 0 22 1998–2020 Spain Real Madrid C 26 [22]
Spain Real Madrid Castilla 4
Spain Real Madrid 725
Portugal Porto 156
Spain Spain 167
Spain Spain U21 5
Spain Spain U20 2
Spain Spain U18 4
Spain Spain U17 10
Spain Spain U16 19
Spain Spain U15 1
9 England Ray Clemence G 1,118 0 23 1965–1988 England Scunthorpe United 50+ [23]
[24]
[25]
England Liverpool 665
England Tottenham Hotspur 337
England England 61
England England U23 4
10 Argentina Javier Zanetti D/M 1,114 31 22 1992–2014 Argentina Talleres RE 33 [26]
[27]
Argentina Banfield 66
Italy Inter Milan 858
Argentina Argentina 145
Argentina Argentina U23 12
11 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo F 1,109 801 20 2001– Portugal Sporting CP B 2 [28]
[29]
[30]
Portugal Sporting CP 31
England Manchester United 292
Spain Real Madrid 438
Italy Juventus 133
Portugal Portugal 179
Portugal Portugal U23 3
Portugal Portugal U21 10
Portugal Portugal U20 5
Portugal Portugal U17 7
Portugal Portugal U15 9
12 Northern Ireland Pat Jennings G 1,096 1 23 1963–1986 England Watford 52 [31]
[32]
[33]
[34]
[35]
England Tottenham Hotspur 596
England Arsenal 327
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 119
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland U23 1
13 England Tony Ford D/M 1,082 125 27 1975–2002 England Grimsby 490 [36]
England Sunderland 9
England Stoke City 135
England West Bromwich Albion 128
England Bradford City 7
England Scunthorpe United 91
England Mansfield Town 116
England Rochdale 104
England England B 2
14 Brazil Marcelinho Paraíba M 1,079 321+ 28 1992–2020 Brazil Campinense 16 [37]
[38]
[39]
Brazil Paraguaçuense 34
Brazil Santos 13
Brazil Rio Branco 42
Brazil São Paulo 201
France Marseille 21
Brazil Grêmio 23
Germany Hertha BSC 193
Turkey Trabzonspor 22
Germany VfL Wolfsburg 57
Brazil Flamengo 25
Brazil Coritiba 50
Brazil Sport Recife 92
Brazil Grêmio Barueri 19
Brazil Boa 45
Brazil Fortaleza 44
Brazil Internacional de Lages 26
Brazil Joinville 30
Brazil Oeste 13
Brazil Ypiranga 4
Brazil Portuguesa 26
Brazil Treze 54
Brazil Perilima 24
Brazil Brazil 5
15 Japan Yasuhito Endō M 1,077 155 23 1998– Japan Yokohama Flügels 20 [40]
[41]
Japan Kyoto Purple Sanga 64
Japan Gamba Osaka 790
Japan Jubilo Iwata 33
Japan Japan 152
Japan Japan U23 7
Japan Japan U20 11
16 Brazil Djalma Santos D 1,065 44 23 1947–1970 Brazil Portuguesa 434 [42]
Brazil Palmeiras 501
Brazil Atlético Paranaense 32
Brazil Brazil 98
17 Spain Raúl F 1,064 462 21 1994–2015 Spain Real Madrid C 9 [43]
Spain Real Madrid B 1
Spain Real Madrid 741
Germany Schalke 04 98
Qatar Al Sadd 61
United States New York Cosmos 32
Spain Spain 102
Spain Spain Olympic team 4
Spain Spain U21 9
Spain Spain U20 5
Spain Spain U18 2
18 England Alan Ball Jr. M 1,053 222 24 1960–1984 England Ashton United 7 [44]
[45]
[46]
England Blackpool 164
England Everton 251
England Arsenal 217
South Africa Hellenic 4
England Southampton 234
United States Philadelphia Fury 33
Canada Vancouver Whitecaps 31
Australia Floreat Athena 3
Hong Kong Eastern 12
England Bristol Rovers 17
England England 72
England England U23 8
19 England David Seaman G 1,046 0 22 1982–2004 England Peterborough United 106 [47]
[48]
England Birmingham City 84
England Queens Park Rangers 175
England Arsenal 564
England Manchester City 26
England England 75
England England B 6
England England U21 10
20 England Frank Lampard M 1,044 315 22 1995–2017 England West Ham United 187
Wales Swansea City 9
England Chelsea 648
England Manchester City 38
United States New York City FC 31
England England 106
England England B 1
England England U21 19
England England U18 5
21 Italy Paolo Maldini D 1,041 45 25 1984–2009 Italy Milan 902 [49]
Italy Italy 126
Italy Italy Olympic team 1
Italy Italy U21 12
22 Brazil Dani Alves D 1,037 74 20 2001– Brazil Bahia 58 [50]
[51]
[52]
[53]
[54]
[55]
Spain Sevilla 250
Spain Barcelona 391
Italy Juventus 33
France Paris Saint-Germain 73
Brazil São Paulo 93
Brazil Brazil 118
Brazil Brazil Olympic team 6
Brazil Brazil U20 15
23 Wales Ryan Giggs M 1,036 183 24 1990–2014 England Manchester United 963 [56]
[57]
[58]
Wales Wales 64
United Kingdom Great Britain 4
Wales Wales U21 1
Wales Wales U18 3
Wales Wales U16 1
24 Northern Ireland Noel Bailie D 1,024+ 11+ 22 1989–2011 Northern Ireland Linfield 1013+ [59]
[60]
[61]
[62]
[63]
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland U23 1
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland U21 2
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland U17 1
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland U16 7
25 England David James G 1,023 0 25 1989–2014 England Watford 98 [64]
[65]
England Liverpool 277
England Aston Villa 85
England West Ham United 102
England Manchester City 100
England Portsmouth 158
England Bristol City 84
England Bournemouth 19
Iceland ÍBV 23
India Kerala Blasters 12
England England 53
England England B 2
England England U21 10
26 Scotland Graham Alexander D 1,022 107 21 1991–2012 England Scunthorpe United 200
England Luton Town 183
England Burnley 177
England Preston North End 421
Scotland Scotland 40
Scotland Scotland B 1
27 Brazil Rivaldo M 1,021 437 26 1989–2015 Brazil Paulista 48 [66]
[67]
[68]
[69]
Brazil Santa Cruz 27
Brazil Mogi Mirim 48
Brazil Corinthians 56
Brazil Palmeiras 120
Spain Deportivo La Coruña 46
Spain Barcelona 235
Italy Milan 40
Brazil Cruzeiro 10
Greece Olympiacos 94
Greece AEK Athens 44
Uzbekistan Bunyodkor 77
Brazil São Paulo 46
Angola Kabuscorp 21
Brazil São Caetano 19
Brazil Brazil 74
Brazil Brazil U23 7
Brazil Brazil U20 9
28 Spain Andoni Zubizarreta G 1,020 0 19 1980–1999 Spain Bilbao Athletic 7 [70]
[71]
[72]
Spain Athletic Bilbao 239
Spain Barcelona 410
Spain Valencia 184
Spain Spain 126
Spain Spain Olympic team 1
Spain Spain U23 23
Spain Spain U21 17
Spain Spain U19 1
Spain Spain U18 12
29 Belgium Timmy Simons D/M 1,019 93 24 1994–2018 Belgium KTH Diest 88
Belgium Lommel 71
Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 218
Germany 1. FC Nürnberg 110
Belgium Club Brugge 438
Belgium Belgium 94
30 Netherlands Clarence Seedorf M 1,017 159 22 1992–2014 Netherlands Ajax 90 [73]
[74]
[75]
[76]
[77]
[78]
[79]
[80]
Italy Sampdoria 34
Spain Real Madrid 159
Italy Inter Milan 93
Italy Milan 432
Brazil Botafogo 81
Netherlands Netherlands 87
Netherlands Netherlands U21 1
Netherlands Netherlands U19 21
Netherlands Netherlands U17 12
Netherlands Netherlands U16 6
Netherlands Netherlands U15 1
31 England Ian Callaghan M 1,002+ 51+ 22 1960–1982 England Liverpool 870 [81]
United States Fort Lauderdale Strikers 20
Wales Swansea City 76+
Australia Canberra City 9+
Republic of Ireland Cork United 2+
England Crewe Alexandra 15+
England England 4
England England U23 4
32 Scotland Tommy Hutchison M 1,001+ 67+ 29 1965–1994 Scotland Alloa Athletic 68+ [59]
England Blackpool 165+
England Coventry City 314+
United States Seattle Sounders 25+
England Manchester City 46+
Hong Kong Bulova SA 22+
England Burnley 92+
Wales Swansea City 178+
Wales Merthyr Tydfil 73+
Scotland Scotland 17
Scotland Scotland U23 1

Trivia[]

  • Roberto Carlos holds the record among the outfield players.
  • Paolo Maldini has the highest number of appearances (1,028) in senior-level football, having played with the lowest amount of teams: 2 (one club, Milan, and one national football team, Italy).
  • Djalma Santos was the first player who reached this record, in the late 1960s.
  • Paul Bastock holds the all-time record for the most competitive club appearances in world football, having played 1,284 times in league and cup competitions, primarily across the English lower leagues.[8][9]
  • Romário also made 1,000 official appearances, if 4 annulled matches are included.[82]

See also[]

References[]

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  2. ^ "Why do the goalkeepers keep playing longer than the other positions? Do their skills grow later? - Quora discussion". Quora.com. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  3. ^ He has 1391 games if you include 4 games he played for the Football League XI who was a representative side of the English Football League who mostly played against the Scottish Football League XI which are some times considered more friendly. Source is this site here: http://www.rsssf.com/players/duizend.html#shilton they include the 4 games he played for Football League XI (keep in mind that they have 1390 games and not 1391 games because they are missing 1 fa cup game so 87 instead of 86 according to this cite List of men's footballers with the most official appearances at the English National Football Archive (subscription required))
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  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "Paul Bastock breaks Peter Shilton record in Wisbech's FA Vase victory". BBC.co.uk. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Non-League Icons: Paul Bastock – Crazy, but just so committed!". theNonLeagueFootballPaper.com. 16 April 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
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  81. ^ Appearances with Swansea City, Canberra City, Cork United and Crewe Alexandra are league matches only.
  82. ^ "Prolific Scorers Data - Romário - Additional Data". www.rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
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