<P> The first player to reach the milestone was midfielder Gary Speed , in representation of Leeds United , Everton , Newcastle United and Bolton Wanderers ; his 500th match was Bolton 's 4 -- 0 win over West Ham United on 9 December 2006 . Speed held the record for most appearances until 14 February 2009 , when goalkeeper David James played his 536th match , for Portsmouth against his former team Manchester City . James ended with 572 appearances , a record which was broken by Ryan Giggs on 14 May 2011 , having played all of his matches for Manchester United . On 25 September 2017 , Gareth Barry broke Giggs ' record by playing his 633rd match , West Bromwich Albion 's 2 -- 0 loss at Arsenal . At the time of breaking the record , Barry ranked 8th in English top division appearances since the Second World War , trailing Giggs in 6th ( 672 total top division appearances ) and six other players . </P>
who has made the most premier league appearances
Gareth Barry