Thousand Matches


See also the file Prolific Goalscorers.
NB: last updated after matches on Dec 31, 2023.

List of Official Appearances Records
Most Official Appearances (Top Level)
Consecutive Seasons Data


List of Official Appearances Records

NB: compilation of lits in progress; totals as of Jun 30, 2023.

- mostly famous players with verified statistics.
- the sources: club books or historical websites, old press.
- the statistics of some players in Brazilian competitions in 1980s-1990s
  need to be confirmed (incl. Fabio, Ceni etc.).
- player statistics for reserve and amateur teams is mostly incomplete.

included: 
- all leagues (incl. regional-, reserve-, amateur-) 
- national, regional and international cups 
- all selections: A, B, Ol, U, league, armee, senior, regional, city, etc. (against the same selections) 
- other official tournaments and games (organized by the football union), e.g. all-star games
  (MLS, South Korea, Japan), FIFA/UEFA sel. and others.
- all cancelled games 

1	Shilton, Peter			England		1949	1965-1997	1503
2	Matthews, Stanley 		England		1915	1930-1965	1263+
3	Clemence, Raymond		England		1948	1965-1988	1260+
4	Fabio				Brazil		1980	1997-		1247+**
5	Ronaldo, Cristiano		Portugal	1985	2001-		1240*  
6	Ceni, Rogério			Brazil		1973	1990-2015	1232+
7	Jennings, Patrick		North Ireland	1945	1962-1986	1205+
8	Hutchison, Thomas		Scotland	1947	1965-1994	1183+
9	Buffon, Gianluigi 		Italy		1978	1993-2023	1179
10	Xavi				Spain		1980	1997-2019	1163
11	Endō, Yasuhito			Japan		1980	1997-		1156*
12	Roberto Carlos			Brazil		1973	1991-2011	1147
13	Marcelinho Paraíba		Brazil		1975	1991-2020	1125
14	Casillas, Iker 			Spain		1981	1998-2019	1119
15	Zanetti, Javier 		Argentina	1973	1992-2014	1114
16	Moore, Robert			England		1941	1957-1978	1111
17	Peters, Martin 			England		1943	1959-1983	1106
18	Messi, Lionel			Argentina	1987	2004-		1103*
19	James, Robert			Wales		1957	1973-1998	1102+
20	Callaghan, Ian			England		1942	1960-1982	1094
21	Lampard, Frank 			England		1978	1994-2016	1091
22	Dalglish, Kenneth 		Scotland	1951	1966-1990	1088 #
23	McGleish, Scott 		Scotland	1974	1993-2023	1086
24	Zinho				Brazil		1967	1985-2007	1085
25	Bailie, Noel 			North Ireland	1971	1989-2011	1085
26	Ferguson, Glenn			North Ireland	1969	1986-2011	1084
27	Ford, Anthony			England		1959	1975-2002	1082
28	Dani Alves			Brazil		1983	2001-		1081*
29	Seaman, David 			England		1963	1982-2004	1079
30	Meredith, William 		Wales		1874	1891-1924	1079+ #
31	Rivaldo				Brazil		1972	1989-2015	1076+
32	Ball, James Alan 		England		1945	1962-1984	1071 
33	Cureton, James			England		1975	1993-2022	1071 
34	Raúl González Blanco		Spain		1977	1994-2015	1065
35	Giggs, Ryan			Wales		1973	1990-2014	1058
36	James, David 			England		1970	1989-2014	1054
37	Iniesta, Andrés 		Spain		1984	2000-		1053*
38	Modric, Luka			Croatia		1985	2003-		1050*
39	Neal, Philip			England		1951	1967-1990	1048 
40	Maldini, Paolo 			Italy		1968	1985-2009	1048
41	Charlton, Robert		England		1937	1954-1981	1047 
42	Lorimer, Peter 			Scotland	1946	1962-1986	1044 
43	Ze Roberto			Brazil		1974	1994-2017	1043
44	Hayles, Barrington		Jamaica/England	1972	1989-2023	1040+
45	Hollins, John 			England		1946	1963-1984	1038 
46	Moutinho, João 			Portugal	1986	2004-		1037* 
47	Leighton, James			Scotland	1958	1977-2000	1036
48	Miura, Kazuyoshi 		Japan		1967	1986-		1031+*
49	Rooke, Ronald			England		1911	1929-1961	1029+
50	Mills, Michael 			England		1949	1965-1988	1028
51	Alexander, Graham 		Scotland	1971	1991-2012	1025
52	Hartford, Richard Asa		Scotland	1950	1967-1991	1022
53	Irwin, Denis			Ireland		1965	1982-2004	1021
54	Sergio Ramos			Spain		1986	2002-		1018*
55	Seedorf, Clarence 		Netherland	1976	1992-2013	1017
56	Southall, Neville 		Wales		1957	1980-2000	1017
57	Speed, Gary			Wales		1969	1986-2009	1016
58	Cush, Wilbur			North Ireland	1928	1945-1970	1011+
59	Shaw, Charles			Scotland	1885	1900-1926	1011+
60	Henry, Thierry 			France		1977	1992-2014	1010
61	Reina, Jose "Pepe"		Spain		1982	1999-		1009*
62	Wilkins, Raymond		England		1956	1972-1997	1008
63	Zubizarreta, Andoni		Spain		1961	1979-1998	1008
64	Sheringham, Edward		England		1966	1983-2008	1007
65	Milner, James			England		1986	2002-		1007*
66	Matthäus, Lothar 		Germany		1961	1978-2000	1005
67	Humphries, William		North Ireland	1936	1953-1977	1004 
68	Paine, Terence			England		1939	1956-1980	1003
69	Romario				Brazil		1966	1984-2009	1003 
70	Pearce, Stuart 			England		1962	1978-2002	1002
71	Ibrahimovic, Zlatan		Sweden		1981	1999-2023	1001
72	Redfearn, Neil			England		1965	1982-2008	1000+
73	Strachan, Gordon		Scotland	1957	1972-1997	1000
74	McCall, Stuart 			Scotland	1964	1982-2004	1000
75	Kelly, James			North Ireland	1911	1925-1957	1000+
76	Alexandro de Souza/Alex		Brazil		1977	1995-2014	997
77	Schmeichel, Peter 		Dania		1963	1981-2003	997+
78	Perryman, Stephen		England		1951	1966-1990	996+
79	Jardine, "Sandy"		Scotland	1948	1966-1988	996+
80	Beardsley, Peter 		England		1961	1979-1999	991+
81	Aldridge, John			Ireland		1958	1976-1998	990+
82	Wark, John 			Scotland	1957	1973-1997	988
83	Magno Alves			Brazil		1976	1993-2021	986
84	Miller, William			Scotland	1955	1971-1990	985
85	Figo, Luis 			Portugal	1972	1988-2009	984+
86	Narey, David			Scotland	1956	1973-1995	980+
87	Nene				Brazil		1981	2000-		979+*
88	Peacock, Robert			North Ireland	1928	1945-1969	978+
89	Fulton, Robert			North Ireland	1906	1921-1947	976+

NB: 	* indicates player is still active (at last update);
	+ indicates number is a lower bound - player may have played more;
	# corrected or added data after last update (only inactive players). 
       ** without Fabio's statistics for União Bandeirante and Atlético Paranaense
          (1997-1999, around 40 matches). These statistics need verification.

Notes: there may be other players with 1000 or more matches.


Most Official Appearances (Top Level)

included: 
- top leagues (incl. Brazilian regional leagues, serie A);
- national and international cups;
- national, league and U23 selections.

NB: preliminary list

1	Shilton, Peter		1233
2	Ceni, Rogério		1228
3	Ronaldo, Cristiano	1207*
4	Fabio			1159+**
5	Zanetti, Javier 	1081
6	Buffon, Gianluigi 	1078
7	Zinho			1078
8	Clemence, Raymond	1070
9	Roberto Carlos		1066
10	Dani Alves		1060*
11	Ferguson, Glenn		1056
17	Messi, Lionel		1051*
12	Jennings, Patrick	1049
13	Casillas, Iker 		1048
14	Ze Roberto		1042
15	Raúl González Blanco	1040
16	Endō, Yasuhito		1036*
18	Maldini, Paolo 		1032
19	Giggs, Ryan		1031
20	Xavi			1023
21	Bailie, Noel 		1017
22	Modric, Luka		1013*
23	Lampard, Frank 		1010
24	Rivaldo			1006

Consecutive Seasons Data

10 consecutive seasons

Neal, Philip		1975-1985	662 (missed only 4 games in this period for FC Liverpool)
Clemence, Raymond	1972-1982	657
Ceni, Rogério		1999-2008	653
Dalglish, Kenneth 	1972-1982	653 (first player with 4 seasons 70+ games)
Hughes, Emlyn		1968-1978	637
Messi, Lionel		2008-2018	631
Griezmann, Antoine	2013-2023	614
Casillas, Iker 		2002-2012	610
Zubizarreta, Andoni	1985-1995	606
Roberto Carlos		1996-2006	603
Ronaldo, Cristiano	2004-2014	602
Xavi			2003-2013	601
Peters, Martin 		1964-1974	601
Shilton, Peter		1978-1988	599
Zinho			1992-2001	599

10 consecutive seasons (before 1950)

Fulton, Robert		1930-1940	506
Shaw, Charles		1907-1917	503
Gray, Douglas		1927-1937	498
Kelly, James		1931-1941	494
Morton, Alan		1920-1930	471

15 consecutive seasons

Ceni, Rogério		1997-2011	954
Clemence, Raymond	1970-1985	930+
Dalglish, Kenneth 	1971-1986	919
Roberto Carlos		1991-2006	908
Messi, Lionel		2008-2023	894
Neal, Philip		1971-1986	893+
Ronaldo, Cristiano	2003-2018	891
Zubizarreta, Andoni	1982-1997	886
Xavi			1999-2014	879

15 consecutive seasons (before 1950)

Fulton, Robert		1927-1942	739 (missed almost 100 games in this period due to injuries
                                             and his job as a school teacher)
Shaw, Charles		1907-1922	736 (missed only 12 games in this period for Queens Park Rangers
                                             and Celtic FC)
Gray, Douglas		1927-1942	732


See also the file Prolific Goalscorers.

About this document

Thanks to Dorian Leveque (England).

Author welcomes any additional data on possibly missing matches

Prepared and maintained by Vladimir Kolos for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Author: Vladimir Kolos (vkoloss@mail.ru)
Last updated: 17 Jan 2024

(C) Copyright Vladimir Kolos and RSSSF 2009/24
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the author. All rights reserved.