James Milner joins Premier League’s 40's club | OneFootball

James Milner marked his 40th birthday on Sunday and, just three days later, added another remarkable milestone to an already extraordinary career.

Coming off the bench for Brighton in their 1-1 draw with Manchester City, Milner became only the fifth outfield player in Premier League history to feature at the age of 40.

The appearance also nudged him closer to another long-standing record. Milner is now just three games shy of Gareth Barry’s all-time Premier League appearance record of 653.

While goalkeepers have regularly stretched their careers well into their forties, outfield players doing the same is an extreme rarity. Teddy Sheringham remains the benchmark, holding the record as the oldest outfield player in Premier League history. He was 40 years, eight months and 28 days old when he turned out for West Ham against Manchester City in December 2006.

Ryan Giggs sits next on the list, making his final Premier League appearance for Manchester United at 40 years, five months and seven days in May 2014, during his brief spell as player-manager following David Moyes’ departure. Kevin Phillips, who featured for Crystal Palace in 2013 aged 40 years, two months and 26 days, and Gordon Strachan, who played for Coventry in 1997 at 40 years, two months and 24 days, complete the exclusive group.

When goalkeepers are included, the list grows considerably. A further 14 players have featured in the Premier League beyond their 40th birthday. The oldest of them all is John Burridge, who played for Manchester City against QPR in May 1995 at the age of 43 years, five months and 11 days.

Others to defy time between the posts include Alec Chamberlain, Steve Ogrizovic, Brad Friedel, Mark Schwarzer, Neville Southall, Kevin Poole, Jens Lehmann, Edwin van der Sar, Shay Given, David Seaman, Willy Caballero, Steve Harper and current West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.