'Manager's dream' Milner nears Premier League record
- Published
Twenty-four years after making his debut, James Milner, 40, will equal the record for most Premier League appearances if he features for Brighton against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
A stellar career spanning more than two decades, six top-flight clubs, 652 Premier League appearances, 61 England caps, three Premier League titles, two FA Cups and one Champions League triumph has also delivered some unexpected moments.
Milner is set to go level with Gareth Barry, who played 653 times, at the top of the all-time Premier League appearance list some 8,491 days after making his debut for hometown club Leeds United soon after leaving school in 2002.
Milner was just 16 and earning £70 a week as a YTS player when he broke into the first team at Leeds, six months after taking his GCSE exams.
Milner signed for Newcastle in a deal worth £5m in 2005.
Alan Shearer, who played with Milner at Newcastle, describes him as a model professional and a "manager's dream".
"You would do well if you had him in your squad because you knew exactly what you were going to get," adds former England captain Shearer.
However, a year after signing, Milner was sent out on loan to Premier League rivals Aston Villa, with then Magpies boss Graeme Souness defending his decision at the time saying "you won't win the league with James Milners".
Milner had impressed on loan at Villa so much that in September 2006 they offered around £4m to sign him permanently but Newcastle pulled out of the deal at the 11th hour at the end of the transfer window and he would not get his permanent switch to Villa for another two years.
In 2020 he opted for the challenge of reviving Manchester City's fortunes and left five years later having helped them win two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup and one Community Shield.
"We won the Premier League together in 2012 but there were times that season when things were not going well," recalls former City defender Micah Richards.
"He was one of the people who kept everyone going."
After 147 top-flight appearances for City, he was ready for his next challenge.
Next stop...Liverpool, where he won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Uefa Super Cup, Fifa Club World Cup and the Community Shield.
After Liverpool came an offer from Brighton in 2023 to prolong his top-flight career, where he continues to compete in what is his 24th Premier League season.
Milner became the Premier League's second-oldest goalscorer earlier this season and celebrated by recreating Diogo Jota's celebration in tribute to his former Liverpool team-mate, who died in a car crash last July.
"I've not scored [in the Premier League] for six years and I was wearing his number. Obviously, I've got help from the great man," said an emotional Milner after the match.
Milner still remembers a conversation with veteran Leeds goalkeeper Nigel Martyn soon after breaking into the first team 24 years ago.
"He told me, 'Enjoy it while you can because it goes so fast'. I said, 'Leave it out, Nige, I'm 16!'
"And here we are in the blink of an eye - and I'm where he was."