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Oldest outfield players in the Premier League as James Milner signs new Brighton deal

We take a look at the oldest outfield players to have appeared in a Premier League match after James Milner signed a new one-year contract extension with Brighton.

Milner's new deal will take the midfielder past his 40th birthday and the three-time Premier League winner will have the opportunity to become one of the Premier League's oldest outfield players, although he will need to prolong his top-flight career into the 2026/27 campaign if he is break the record.

Premier League 2025/26

Oldest outfield players to appear in a Premier League match

• Teddy Sheringham

40 years, 8 months and 28 days

The record for the oldest outfield Premier League player is held by Teddy Sheringham, who made his final top-flight appearance for West Ham in a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in December 2006.

Not making another league appearance for the remainder of the season, Sheringham's career did not conclude at West Ham as he next ventured to Colchester United before retiring at the end of the 2007/08 campaign.

• Ryan Giggs

40 years, 5 months and 7 days

Ryan Giggs ended his glittering career poignantly ended exactly where it started as he finally hung up his boots in 2014 after 24 years as a Manchester United player.

He made his last appearance in a 3-1 win over Hull City on 6th May, when he replaced youngster Tom Lawrence for the last 20 minutes of the game.

• Kevin Phillips

40 years, 2 months and 26 days

The second-oldest striker to play in the Premier League, Kevin Phillips is also the oldest goalscorer in Crystal Palace's history at 39 years 7 months, which he achieved by scoring a hat-trick against Hull City in the 2012/13 campaign.

Phillips' final top-flight match came in the subsequent season as he came on for the final 21 minutes of Palace's 4-1 defeat to Fulham in October 2013.

• Bryan Robson

39 years, 11 months and 21 days

Bryan Robson's final match of his decorated career was on New Year's Day in 1997 in Middlesbrough's 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at Highbury, 10 days before his 40th birthday.

The midfielder was contracted to Middlesbrough until the end of the season but opted to hang up his boots after admitting his "whole body ached for two weeks" in the aftermath of the Arsenal encounter.

• Ashley Young

39 years, 10 months and 16 days

The most recent addition to this list, Ashley Young made his final Everton appearance during the Toffees' 1-0 win over Newcastle United on the final day of the 2024/25 Premier League season.

Currently unattached, the former England international insists he has no plans to retire yet and if Young finds another Premier League club, he will join the exclusive 40-and-over list if he were to make an appearance.

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