Every time James Milner played with and against Gareth Barry as Brighton veteran equals Premier League appearance record

SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 19: Gareth Barry (R) of Aston Villa celebrates his goal with team mate James Milner during the Barclays Premiership match between Sunderland and Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light on November 19, 2005 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Gareth Barry; James Milner
James Milner and Gareth Barry have played more times than any other player in the Premier League (Image credit: Getty Images)

James Milner has joined Gareth Barry at the top of the all-time Premier League appearances list.

What better occasion to tick the clock to 653 appearances than against former club Aston Villa where Barry made his name? That's what happened on Wednesday night at Villa Park.

Every time James Milner played with Gareth Barry

during the England training session at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on June 11, 2010 in Rustenburg, South Africa.

Gareth Barry and James Milner training with England in South Africa (Image credit: Getty Images)

Milner and Barry have an extensive shared history. Of the record holder's 653 Premier League appearances, 129 were made with Milner as a teammate (i.e. actually on the pitch together) for Aston Villa and Manchester City.

The veteran Brighton midfielder had two spells at Villa, first on loan and later permanently, while Barry was a stalwart before his departure for Man City in 2009.

They played 62 times together for Villa in the Premier League between 2005 and 2009, including two second city derby wins over Birmingham City, several victories over West Bromwich Albion and a famous 3-2 away win against Everton.

Milner and Barry's final shared Villa appearance came on the last day of 2008/09, when a Damien Duff own goal at Villa Park condemned Newcastle United, Milner's former club, to relegation.

Barry forced the error that day but was still playing under a cloud after a failed move to Liverpool. His next shared appearance with Milner was for Manchester City against the Reds – where Milner would later play – in 2010.

The pair shared the pitch 67 times for City in the Premier League, winning the league together in 2011/12 to follow an FA Cup win in Milner's first season at Eastlands.

In all competitions and for both club and country, Milner and Barry were on the pitch together as teammates a total of 171 times.

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 05: during the Barclays Premier League match between Aston Villa and Manchester City at Villa Park on October 5, 2009 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)

Barry and Milner in opposition (Image credit: Getty Images)

Every time James Milner played against Gareth Barry

Milner, who made his Premier League debut for Leeds United against West Ham United in November 2002, played against Barry in the Premier League on just 12 occasions.

The first seven of those were between Leeds and Villa, Newcastle and Villa, or Villa and Man City, meaning Milner was always playing against a future club.

With Barry at Everton and Milner at Liverpool, the last four meetings were Merseyside derbies. Milner's Reds won three and drew one, the last being a 3-1 win at Anfield in 2017.

Indeed, Barry only beat Milner in the Premier League three times – each of them in a Villa shirt.

James Milner's oldest-ever teammate

While Milner played around quarter of an hour across three on-loan Swindon Town appearances with Alan Reeves, born in 1967 and now 58 years-old, his oldest Premier League teammate was, we believe, one David Batty.

Born in December 1968, Batty is now 57 and played alongside Milner for the first time in Leeds' 1-0 defeat against Manchester United in 2003.

They were teammates on a further nine occasions in 2003/04, including once in the FA Cup.

David Batty Leeds

David Batty at Leeds United

James Milner's youngest-ever teammate

The youngest player to have played with Milner – so far – is 17-year-old Brighton attacking midfielder Harry Howell, who shared the pitch with the former England man in a pair of 6-0 wins in this season's Carabao Cup.

Milner's youngest Premier League teammate is Tom Watson, scorer of the goal that got Sunderland promoted last season before completing his move to the Seagulls.

Born in 2006, Watson played six times in the Premier League and is now on loan at Championship promotion chasers Millwall to see if he can repeat the feat.

Chris is a Warwickshire-based freelance writer, Editor-in-Chief of AVillaFan.com, author of the High Protein Beef Paste football newsletter and owner of Aston Villa Review. He supports Northern Premier League Midlands Division club Coventry Sphinx.

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