James Milner has joined Gareth Barry at the top of the all-time Premier League appearances list.
What better occasion to tick the clock to 653 appearances than against former club Aston Villa where Barry made his name? That's what happened on Wednesday night at Villa Park.
Seagulls manager Fabian Hurzeler had the power to make or break a piece of history with his team selection and duly delivered, sending the 40-year-old on for the injured Carlos Baleba during the first half. Milner has regularly been used as a late substitute in Brighton's recent matches but hasn't yet started a league game in 2026.
Every time James Milner played with Gareth Barry
Milner and Barry have an extensive shared history. Of the record holder's 653 Premier League appearances, 129 were made with Milner as a teammate (i.e. actually on the pitch together) for Aston Villa and Manchester City.
The veteran Brighton midfielder had two spells at Villa, first on loan and later permanently, while Barry was a stalwart before his departure for Man City in 2009.
They played 62 times together for Villa in the Premier League between 2005 and 2009, including two second city derby wins over Birmingham City, several victories over West Bromwich Albion and a famous 3-2 away win against Everton.
Milner and Barry's final shared Villa appearance came on the last day of 2008/09, when a Damien Duff own goal at Villa Park condemned Newcastle United, Milner's former club, to relegation.
Barry forced the error that day but was still playing under a cloud after a failed move to Liverpool. His next shared appearance with Milner was for Manchester City against the Reds – where Milner would later play – in 2010.
The pair shared the pitch 67 times for City in the Premier League, winning the league together in 2011/12 to follow an FA Cup win in Milner's first season at Eastlands.
In all competitions and for both club and country, Milner and Barry were on the pitch together as teammates a total of 171 times.
Every time James Milner played against Gareth Barry
Milner, who made his Premier League debut for Leeds United against West Ham United in November 2002, played against Barry in the Premier League on just 12 occasions.
The first seven of those were between Leeds and Villa, Newcastle and Villa, or Villa and Man City, meaning Milner was always playing against a future club.
With Barry at Everton and Milner at Liverpool, the last four meetings were Merseyside derbies. Milner's Reds won three and drew one, the last being a 3-1 win at Anfield in 2017.
Indeed, Barry only beat Milner in the Premier League three times – each of them in a Villa shirt.
James Milner's oldest-ever teammate
While Milner played around quarter of an hour across three on-loan Swindon Town appearances with Alan Reeves, born in 1967 and now 58 years-old, his oldest Premier League teammate was, we believe, one David Batty.
Born in December 1968, Batty is now 57 and played alongside Milner for the first time in Leeds' 1-0 defeat against Manchester United in 2003.
They were teammates on a further nine occasions in 2003/04, including once in the FA Cup.
James Milner's youngest-ever teammate
The youngest player to have played with Milner – so far – is 17-year-old Brighton attacking midfielder Harry Howell, who shared the pitch with the former England man in a pair of 6-0 wins in this season's Carabao Cup.
Milner's youngest Premier League teammate is Tom Watson, scorer of the goal that got Sunderland promoted last season before completing his move to the Seagulls.
Born in 2006, Watson played six times in the Premier League and is now on loan at Championship promotion chasers Millwall to see if he can repeat the feat.
