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Ever wonder how many games a professional soccer player collects under their belt? If the typical pro has an eight-year professional career, they average about 220 games in all competitions. There are, however, some exceptions to this case, especially for goalkeepers who don’t have to move as much throughout the game (except for Cristiano Ronaldo), allowing them to play over a thousand games and counting!
In this article, we’ll discuss the five professional soccer players whose careers saw them play over 1,000+ matches in all competitions, including their position, what teams they played for and how many total matches they’ve played.
Starting the list is a Brazilian goalkeeper, Rogerio Ceni, with a career spanning from 1990-2015, leaving him with 1,226 matches played in the net! Most surprising is that Ceni racked up an incredible 1,197 games for Sao Paulo alone, making him the only player in history to have over 1,000 caps for just one team.
Aside from his Brazilian league caps, Ceni played 17 games for the Brazilian national team and 12 for Sinop Futebol Clube, making him the fifth-highest player to have 1,000 total games under his belt.
Up next is the Portuguese legend of Cristiano Ronaldo, with 1,279 total appearances for club and country. Ronaldo is still kicking it with his Saudi Arabian club at Al Nassr (106) appearances and Portugal (219 international caps).
Aside from his three U23 Portuguese National team caps and two for Sporting CP B, Ronaldo began his career with 31 matches for Sporting CP before heading Manchester United at two separate points throughout his career for 346 caps. He’d also play for 438 games with Real Madrid and 134 for Juventus, giving him a diversified portfolio of clubs and leagues. He is the #1 field player with the most games played in all competitions in history.
Englishman Paul Bastock began his career in 1998, playing until 2022 to achieve 1,284 as a goalkeeper for exactly 20 different teams (the number of games played for Sabah FA is unknown – denoted by ?). While he’d only play a few games for several clubs (and not make a single English National team appearance), Paul Bastock would play for Deeping Rangers, Pinchbeck United, Grantham Town, Wisbech Town (33), Corby Town Stamford (25), DunstableTown (30), St Neots Town (39), Royston Tow (13), Worksop Town (42) Rushden & Diamonds (25), St Albans City (315), Dagenham & Redbridge, Boston United (679), Aylesbury United, Kettering Town (27), Fisher Athletic (28), Sabah FA, Bath City and Cambridge United (13).
Although Bastock would never reach top-flight football, with most of his games coming in lower-division English leagues, he has the highest number of appearances, with the largest quantity of clubs played for out of any other player in history.
Following Bastock is the Brazilian goalie Fabio, with a jaw-dropping 1,362 games played from 1995 to now! Fabio currently plays for Fulminese in the Brazilian league, where he’s played in 208 games so far.
Along with three U23 Brazilian national team appearances, Fabio would play 30 games for Uniao Bandeirante, 16 for Atletico Paranaense, 150 for Vasco da Gama and 955 for Cruzeiro, making him the second-most experienced goalkeeper in history, and the top player with the most caps in all competitions still playing to this day.
Arguably the most experienced goalkeeper ever, and the player with the highest number of games played in all competitions, is the legendary Peter Shilton, with 1,387 matches to his name. Shilton played for several clubs from 1966-1997, including the English National team for 125 games (U23 for 13 games).
For his club experience, he played 10 games with Leyton Orient, 2 with Bolton Wanderers, 43 with Plymouth Argyle, 211 with Derby County, 242 with Southampton, 272 with Nottingham Forest, 121 for Stoke City, and 348 for Leicester City. Overall, Peter Shilton holds the record for the highest number of professional soccer appearances in all competitions, unless Fabio or Ronaldo manages to overtake him.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.