List of footballers with the most official appearances

This is a list of the 50 footballers who have played the most official football matches at all age levels. Players in bold are still active.

Peter Shilton of England holds the all-time record for the most competitive appearances in world football.

Ranking
Updated on 26 June 2020.
Rank Name Position Appearances Goals Seasons Period Teams
1 Peter Shilton G 1,390[1][2] 1 31 1966–1997 348 Leicester City
121 Stoke City
272 Nottingham Forest
242 Southampton
211 Derby County
43 Plymouth Argyle
2 Bolton Wanderers
10 Leyton Orient

125 England
13 England U23

2 Rogério Ceni G 1,234[3] 129 25 1990–2015 20 Sinop
1,198 São Paulo

16 Brazil

3 Roberto Carlos D 1,127+[4] 113+ 24 1991–2015 61+ União São João
161 Palmeiras
34 Inter Milan
527 Real Madrid
104 Fenerbahçe
61 Corinthians
28 Anzhi Makhachkala
3 Delhi Dynamos

125 Brazil
23 Brazil Olympic football team
5 Brazil U20

4 Ray Clemence G 1,117+[5] − 23 1965–1988 50+ Scunthorpe United
665 Liverpool[6]
337 Tottenham Hotspur[7]

61 England
4 England U23

5 Javier Zanetti D/M 1,102[8] 31 22 1992–2014 33 Talleres RE
66 Banfield
858 Inter Milan[9]

145 Argentina
12 Argentina U23

6 Pat Jennings G 1,095[10] 1 23 1963–1986 52 Watford[11]
596 Tottenham Hotspur[12]
327 Arsenal[13]

119 Northern Ireland
1 Northern Ireland U23[14]

7 Gianluigi Buffon G 1,094[15] − 25 1995– 220 Parma
669 Juventus
25 Paris Saint-Germain

176 Italy
4 Italy U23
11 Italy U21
3 Italy U18
3 Italy U17
3 Italy U16

8 Marcelinho Paraíba M 1,091[16][17][18] 317+ 28 1992–2020 16 Campinense
34 Esporte Clube Paraguaçuense
16 Santos
42 Rio Branco Esporte Clube
197 São Paulo
21 Marseille
49 Grêmio
193 Hertha BSC
22 Trabzonspor
57 VfL Wolfsburg
25 Flamengo
40 Coritiba
92 Sport Recife
19 Grêmio Barueri
45 Boa
44 Fortaleza
26 Internacional de Lages
30 Joinville
13 Oeste
4 Ypiranga Futebol Clube
26 Portuguesa
58 Treze
17 Perilima

5 Brazil

9 Tony Ford D/M 1,082[19] 120 25 1975–2001 490 Grimsby
9 Sunderland
135 Stoke
128 West Bromwich Albion
7 Bradford City
91 Scunthorpe United
116 Mansfield Town
104 Rochdale

2 England B

10 Iker Casillas G 1,078[20] − 22 1998–2020 26 Real Madrid C
4 Real Madrid Castilla
725 Real Madrid
156 Porto

167 Spain
5 Spain U21
2 Spain U20
4 Spain U18
10 Spain U17
19 Spain U16
1 Spain U15

11 Xavi M 1,076[21][22] 138 22 1997–2019 61 Barcelona B
767 Barcelona
115 Al Sadd

133 Spain
6 Spain U23
25 Spain U21
6 Spain U20
10 Spain U18
10 Spain U17

12 Fábio G 1,068[23][24] − 23 1997– 23 União Bandeirante
16 Atlético Paranaense
151 Vasco da Gama
863 Cruzeiro

5 Brazil U20
6 Brazil U17

13 Djalma Santos D 1,065 44 23 1947–1970 434 Portuguesa
501 Palmeiras[25]
32 Atlético Paranaense

98 Brazil

14 Raúl A 1,063 462 21 1994–2015 8 Real Madrid C
1 Real Madrid B
741 Real Madrid
98 Schalke 04
61 Al Sadd
32 New York Cosmos

102 Spain
4 Spain Olympic football team
9 Spain U21
5 Spain U20
2 Spain U18

15 Alan Ball, Jr. M 1,053 222 24 1960–1984 7 Ashton United
164 Blackpool
251 Everton,[26]
217 Arsenal[27]
4 Hellenic
234 Southampton
33 Philadelphia Fury[28]
31 Vancouver Whitecaps[28]
3 Floreat Athena
12 Eastern
17 Bristol Rovers

72 England
8 England U23

16 David Seaman G 1,046[29] − 22 1982–2004 106 Peterborough United
84 Birmingham City
175 Queens Park Rangers
564 Arsenal[30]
26 Manchester City

75 England
6 England B
10 England U21

17 Frank Lampard M 1,044 315 22 1995–2017 187 West Ham United
9 Swansea City
648 Chelsea
38 Manchester City
31 New York City FC

106 England
1 England B
19 England U21
5 England U18

18 Paolo Maldini D 1,041[31] 45 25 1984–2009 902 Milan

126 Italy
1 Italy Olympic football team
12 Italy U21

19 Cristiano Ronaldo A 1,040[32][33] 745 19 2001– 2 Sporting CP B
31 Sporting CP
292 Manchester United
438 Real Madrid
79 Juventus

164 Portugal
3 Portugal U23
10 Portugal U21
5 Portugal U20
7 Portugal U17
9 Portugal U15

20 Ryan Giggs M 1,036 183 24 1990–2014 963 Manchester United[34]

64 Wales
4 Great Britain Olympic football team[35]
1 Wales U21[36] 3 Wales U18
1 Wales U16

21 Jamie Cureton A 1,034 369 27 1993– 108 Norwich City
6 Bournemouth
198 Bristol Rovers
127 Reading
21 Busan IPark
46 Queens Park Rangers
32 Swindon Town
56 Colchester United
8 Barnsley
12 Shrewsbury Town
96 Exeter City
23 Leyton Orient
36 Cheltenham Town
93 Dagenham & Redbridge
48 Farnborough
7 Eastleigh
17 St Albans City
94 Bishop's Stortford
3 Hornchurch

3 England U18

22 Yasuhito Endō M 1,032[37] 150 24 1997– 1 Kagoshima Jitsugyō H.S.
20 Yokohama Flügels
64 Kyoto Purple Sanga
777 Gamba Osaka

152 Japan
7 Japan U23
11 Japan U20

23 Graham Alexander D 1,025 107[38] 21 1991–2012 202 Scunthorpe United
183 Luton Town
178 Burnley
421 Preston North End

40 Scotland
1 Scotland B

24 Noel Bailie D 1,024 11[38] 22 1989–2011 1013 Linfield[39][40]

1 Northern Ireland U23[14]
2 Northern Ireland U21[41]
1 Northern Ireland U17[42]
7 Northern Ireland U16[42]

25 David James G 1,023[43][44] − 25 1989–2014 98 Watford
277 Liverpool
85 Aston Villa
102 West Ham United
100 Manchester City
158 Portsmouth
84 Bristol City
19 Bournemouth
23 ÍBV
12 Kerala Blasters

53 England
2 England B
10 England U21

26 Andoni Zubizarreta G 1,020 − 19 1980–1999 7 Bilbao Athletic
239 Athletic Bilbao[45]
410 Barcelona[46]
184 Valencia[47]

126 Spain
1 Spain Olympic football team
23 Spain U23
17 Spain U21
1 Spain U19
12 Spain U18

27 Timmy Simons D/M 1,019 93 24 1994–2018 88 KTH Diest
71 Lommel
218 PSV Eindhoven
110 1. FC Nürnberg
438 Club Brugge

94 Belgium

28 Clarence Seedorf M 1,016 159 22 1992–2014 90 Ajax
34 Sampdoria
159 Real Madrid
92 Inter Milan[48]
432 Milan[49]
81 Botafogo

87 Netherlands[50]
1 Netherlands U21[51]
21 Netherlands U19[52]
12 Netherlands U17[53]
6 Netherlands U16[54]
1 Netherlands U15[55]

29 Ian Callaghan M 1,002+[56] 51+ 22 1960–1982 870 Liverpool
20 Fort Lauderdale Strikers
76+ Swansea City
9+ Canberra City
2+ Cork United
0 Sandefjord[57]
15+ Crewe Alexandra

4 England
4 England U23

30 Tommy Hutchison M 1,000 67 29 1965–1994 68 Alloa Athletic
165 Blackpool
314 Coventry City
25 Seattle Sounders
46 Manchester City
22 Bulova SA
92 Burnley
178 Swansea City
73 Merthyr Tydfil

17 Scotland

31 Romário A 994 772 22 1985–2007 352 Vasco da Gama
148 PSV Eindhoven
66 Barcelona
215 Flamengo
12 Valencia
75 Fluminense
3 Al Sadd
26 Miami FC
4 Adelaide United
1 America-RJ

70 Brazil
8 Brazil Olympic football team
11 Brazil U20

Thierry Henry A 994 450 20 1994–2014 19 Monaco B
141 Monaco
20 Juventus
377 Arsenal
121 Barcelona
135 New York Red Bulls

123 France
6 France U21
11 France U20
9 France U19
13 France U18
11 France U17
8 France U16

33 Neville Southall G 993 − 20 1980–2000 49 Bury
751[58] Everton
9 Port Vale
9 Southend United
12 Stoke City
9 Doncaster Rovers
61 Torquay United
1 Bradford City

92 Wales

34 Lothar Matthäus D/M 987 251 22 1979–2001 222 Borussia Mönchengladbach
410 Bayern Munich
153 Inter Milan
23 MetroStars

150 Germany
4 Germany B
15 Germany U21
10 Germany U19

35 Luís Figo M 984[59] 182 20 1989–2009 163 Sporting CP
249 Barcelona
245 Real Madrid
140 Inter Milan

127 Portugal
7 Portugal U21
12 Portugal U20
21 Portugal U18
6 Portugal U17
15 Portugal U16

36 Teddy Sheringham A 981 355 25 1983–2008 248 Millwall
5 Aldershot
21 Djurgårdens IF
56 Nottingham Forest
277 Tottenham Hotspur
153 Manchester United
38 Portsmouth
87 West Ham United
20 Colchester United

51 England
1 England U21

Neil Redfearn M 981 198 24 1982–2006 41 Bolton Wanderers
114 Lincoln City
54 Doncaster Rovers
65 Crystal Palace
36 Watford
74 Oldham Athletic
338 Barnsley
33 Charlton Athletic
21 Bradford City
31 Wigan Athletic
46 Halifax Town
58 Boston United
9 Rochdale
61 Scarborough
38 Asa Hartford M 973 64 24 1967–1991 271 West Bromwich Albion
321 Manchester City
3 Nottingham Forest
98 Everton
40 Norwich City
101 Bolton Wanderers
52 Stockport County
7 Oldham Athletic
30 Shrewsbury Town

50 Scotland

39 Stuart McCall M 972 84 23 1982–2005 443 Bradford City
132 Everton
265 Rangers
90 Sheffield United

40 Scotland
2 Scotland B

Zé Roberto M 972 92 23 1994–2017 61 Portuguesa
21 Real Madrid
24 Flamengo
150 Bayer Leverkusen
248 Bayern Munich
48 Santos
72 Hamburger SV
18 Al-Gharafa
118 Grêmio
128 Palmeiras

84 Brazil

41 Steve Perryman D 968 39 21 1969–1990 866 Tottenham Hotspur
17 Oxford United
67 Brentford

1 England
17 England U21[60]

42 Petr Čech G 963[61][62] − 21 1998–2019 30 Chmel Blšany
42 Sparta Prague
78 Rennes
494 Chelsea
139 Arsenal

124 Czech Republic
15 Czech Republic U21
7 Czech Republic U20
13 Czech Republic U18
3 Czech Republic U17
15 Czech Republic U16
3 Czech Republic U15

43 Denis Irwin D 961 48 21 1983–2004 82 Leeds United
204 Oldham Athletic
529 Manchester United
85 Wolverhampton Wanderers

56 Republic of Ireland
1 Republic of Ireland B
1 Republic of Ireland U23
3 Republic of Ireland U21

44 Bobby Moore D 960 28 20 1958–1978 646 West Ham
150 Fulham
24 San Antonio Thunder
7 Seattle Sounders
9 Herning Fremad
8 Carolina Lightnin'

108 England
8 England U23

45 Dino Zoff G 957 − 22 1961–1983 40 Udinese
134 Mantova
190 Napoli
479 Juventus

112 Italy
3 Italy U21

Rivaldo M 957 426 26 1989–2015 48 Paulista
26 Santa Cruz
31 Mogi Mirim
22 Corinthians
97 Palmeiras
46 Deportivo La Coruña
235 Barcelona
40 Milan
10 Cruzeiro
94 Olympiacos
44 AEK Athens
77 Bunyodkor
46 São Paulo
21 Kabuscorp
19 São Caetano
11 Mogi Mirim

74 Brazil
7 Brazil U23
9 Brazil U20

47 Robbie James M 955 161 22 1972–1994 554 Swansea City
56 Stoke City
101 Queens Park Rangers
28 Leicester City
108 Bradford City
62 Cardiff City

47 Wales

48 Sandy Jardine D 954 46 23 1965–1988 674 Rangers
238 Hearts

38 Scotland
4 Scotland U23

49 Mick Mills D 953 33 23 1965–1988 744 Ipswich Town
123 Southampton
44 Stoke City

42 England

50 Essam El Hadary G 951+[63] 2 26 1993–2019 65+ Damietta
420 Al Ahly
37 Sion
85 Ismaily
4 Zamalek[64]
68 Al-Merreikh
1 Al Ittihad Alexandria
79 Wadi Degla[65]
27 Al-Taawoun
3 Nogoom

157 Egypt
5 Egypt U23

Phil Neal D 951 95 21 1968–1989 187 Northampton Town
650 Liverpool
64 Bolton Wanderers

50 England

See also

References
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  2. "Peter Shilton". 11v11.com.
  3. "Rogério Ceni". footballdatabase.eu.
  4. "Roberto Carlos - South Melbourne". www.footballdatabase.eu.
  5. "Ray Clemence - Angleterre Espoirs". www.footballdatabase.eu.
  6. LFChistory.net. "Liverpool career stats for Ray Clemence - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". www.lfchistory.net.
  7. "Ray Clemence - tottenhamhotspur.com". www.tottenhamhotspur.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  8. https://www.footballdatabase.eu/fr/joueur/details/1569-javier-zanetti
  9. "Javier Adelmar Zanetti". inter.it. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  10. https://www.footballdatabase.eu/fr/joueur/stats_de_la_competition/16561-pat-jennings
  11. "Watford players archive" (PDF). watfordarchive.com. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
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  13. "Pat Jennings". arsenal.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  14. "Northern Ireland Under-23 Internationals". nifootball.blogspot.it. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
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  16. "Marcelinho Paraíba - Treze". www.footballdatabase.eu.
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  20. "Iker Casillas - FC Porto". www.footballdatabase.eu.
  21. "Xavi - Al Sadd Doha". www.footballdatabase.eu.
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  23. "Fábio - Cruzeiro". www.footballdatabase.eu.
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  30. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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  38. Il dato si riferisce al solo campionato.
  39. "Linfield 1-0 Portadown". BBC Sport. 30 April 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  40. "Special presentation to Noel Bailie". Linfieldfc.com. 30 April 2011. Archived from the original on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
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  56. Appearances with Swansea City, Canberra City, Cork United and Crewe Alexandra are league matches only.
  57. Despite signing for Sandefjord in 1981, Callaghan was never able to take the field because he did not obtain the required work permit. ("Ian Callaghan - The Marathon man". lfchistory.net. Retrieved 19 April 2014.)
  58. "Everton Results". evertonresults.com.
  59. "Luis Figo - libre". www.footballdatabase.eu.
  60. "England - U-23 International Results - Details". www.rsssf.com.
  61. "Petr Cech - Arsenal". www.footballdatabase.eu.
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  63. "Essam El Hadary - Nogoom FC". www.footballdatabase.eu.
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  65. "Essam El Hadary". Retrieved 16 June 2018.
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