Record holders: Players with the most appearances in the history of football

Do you know who is the player with the most appearances of all time?

In this article, we've compiled a ranking of the top 10 players with the most official appearances in football history. We've also included some interesting facts about each of them so you can learn more about these legends. Let's find out who they are!

10 - Xavi - 1,148 matches

The Spaniard is known as one of the best midfielders of all time and a national hero of Spain.

He was one of the key players in Spain's 2010 World Cup victory. He was also a multiple La Liga champion with Barcelona, a club where he is considered one of his greatest idols.

Xavi received the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker award four consecutive times between 2008 and 2011. He was included in FIFA's FIFPro World XI six times (from 2008 to 2013) and in the UEFA Team of the Year five times (from 2008 to 2012).

He played football from 1997 to 2019 and opens our list as the tenth player in the world with the most career appearances!

9 - Ray Clemence - 1,170 caps

Ray was an English goalkeeper and later manager who played primarily for Liverpool and then Tottenham.

Clemence is highly respected by fans of both clubs. He was voted Liverpool's 11th-best player in history. He was also named the BBC's best goalkeeper of the 20th century and topped Total Football magazine's poll of the greatest goalkeeper of all time, beating out names like Shilton, Lev Yashin, Gordon Banks, and Pat Jennings.

He played from 1966 to 1987. Most of his matches were for Liverpool, and the rest for Tottenham and the England national team.

8 - Buffon - 1,175 appearances

Buffon is recognized as one of the best goalkeepers of all time in world football.

He started his career at Parma, but in the early 2000s he transferred to Juventus, a club for which he became one of the greatest idols.

Buffon was a key player in Italy's fourth World Cup title in 2006, and won 10 Serie A titles with Juventus alone.

He played from 1993 to 2023. Most of his games were for Juventus, with a few seasons at Parma and a brief stint at Paris Saint-Germain.

7 - Tommy Hutchison - 1,178 games

Tommy was a Scottish midfielder who played for several English clubs and even played in Major League Soccer in the United States. He played for clubs such as Blackpool, Coventry City, Seattle Sounders (on loan), Manchester City, Bulova (Hong Kong), Burnley, and Swansea City, where he also served as manager during the 1985–86 season.

He played from 1964 to 1994, with most of his matches being for Coventry City.

6 - František Plánička - 1,187 matches

František was a Czech footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Known as the "Prague Cat" for his acrobatic feats, he is considered one of the greatest goalkeepers of the 20th century and the leading goalkeeper before World War I. František was also one of the most prestigious athletes in the former Czechoslovakia.

He played from 1918 to 1957, standing out with the Czechoslovakia national team shirt, but most of his matches were for the Slavia Prague club.

5 - Rogério Ceni - 1,226 matches

Rogério Ceni is a living legend of football, known as the goalkeeper with the most goals scored in his career, totaling 131 goals.

Rogério holds other incredible records, such as: player who served as captain for the most times in a club; goalkeeper who saved the most penalties; number of free kick goals similar to Maradona; and player with the most wins for a single club (601).

He is currently the coach of Bahia, having also had great campaigns with Flamengo, where he was Brazilian champion in 2020 and Copa do Brasil champion in 2021.

He played as a player from 1990 to 2015 and has worked as a coach since 2017.

4 - Cristiano Ronaldo - 1,276 matches

Cristiano Ronaldo is another living football legend and a strong candidate to become the record holder for matches played in the future.

The Portuguese is 40 years old, but he remains in peak physical shape, playing in Arab football and putting in some excellent performances. Besides being a contender for the appearance record, he already holds the record for the most goals scored officially (934), both overall and for a club.

3 - Paul Bastock - 1,284 caps

Paul was an English goalkeeper who played for several clubs in England's Division C and Division D. He currently serves on the coaching staff of St Albans City.

He played for over 20 different clubs, playing 501 times for Boston United. Officially retiring in 2023, he returned to Boston United for the third time, but did not play a single match on that final occasion.

In recent years, he has also worked as a player and coach for clubs such as Kings Lynn Town and Boston United.

Currently, at 55 years old, he is the third player in the world with the most official matches recorded.

2 - Fabio - 1,386 matches

Goalkeeper Fábio is one of Cruzeiro's greatest idols, with over 900 appearances for the club. He currently plays for Fluminense, where he is also an idol and won the Copa Libertadores with the Rio de Janeiro club.

Fábio holds the record for the goalkeeper who went the longest period without conceding a goal in the Brazilian Championship.

He remains active, even at almost 45 years old, and is a strong candidate to be the player with the most appearances, along with Cristiano Ronaldo.

1 - Peter Shilton - 1,402 caps

Peter is a living English legend, holding the record for most career football appearances and the most capped player for the England national team.

He played for several English clubs, with balanced seasons at almost all of them. He played around 250 times for Nottingham Forest, Southampton, and Derby County each. However, his most capped appearances came for Leicester, with over 300 appearances.

Peter was part of the legendary Nottingham Forest team that won the Champions League twice (1979 and 1980) and the UEFA Super Cup in 1979.

He is currently retired, aged 75.

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