The seven players who’ve played over 1200 matches including Cristiano Ronaldo
Former Leicester City, Manchester United and Stoke City stars are among the seven players with over 1200 professional appearances under their belt.
As per the statistics gathered by the RSSSF, only seven players in football history have made more than 1200 appearances throughout their careers.
We’ve ranked those seven players by the number of games they played, including two stars who are still active today.
7. Rogerio Ceni – 1232 games
The Brazilian goalkeeper played between 1990 and 2015, spending his entire career in Brazil.
He spent the vast majority of his career playing for Sao Paulo, where he is the record appearance maker with 1197 games for the club.
Ceni also holds the record as the highest-scoring goalkeeper of all time, with 129 goals scored.
The shot-stopper was Sao Paulo’s main penalty taker from 1997 and also took set-pieces.
With 1128 games under his belt, he’s currently ahead of the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Luka Modric in the all-time appearance ranks.
6. Pat Jennings – 1234 games
The former Northern Ireland international racked up a whopping 1234 appearances from 1963 to 1986.
During his club career, the goalkeeper enjoyed spells with the likes of Watford, Tottenham and Arsenal, with his most successful years coming with Spurs.
He was nominated for the Ballon d’Or on three occasions and was included in the World XI in 1973.
5. Stanley Matthews – 1263 games
The first-ever player to win the Ballon d’Or.
Matthews is one of the greatest players that England has ever produced and the records he set speak for themselves.
He enjoyed his peak years playing for Stoke City and Blackpool, capturing the imagination of fans at the time.
While most professionals tend to retire in their thirties, Matthews hung up his boots in 1965 at the age of 50.
4. Ray Clemence – 1283 games
The legendary former Liverpool goalkeeper played 1283 games throughout his career, which spanned from 1965 to 1988.
Jamie Carragher included Clemence in his all-time Liverpool XI, ahead of Alisson Becker, citing the number of trophies he won for the club as the main factor.
He also made 61 appearances for England, making him the sixth most capped goalkeeper for the Three Lions.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo – 1289 games
As of writing, Ronaldo has made 1289 appearances for club and country – the most of any outfield player ever.
Having recently penned a new contract with Al-Nassr and with the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, the Portuguese superstar still has a few more years left in him yet.
“I want to keep playing for a few more years,” CR7 recently told reporters.
“I’m still producing good things, helping my club and the National Team. Why not continue? I’m sure when I retire, I’ll leave fulfilled because I gave everything”, he said.
“My family says it’s time to quit, and they ask me why I want to score 1,000 goals when I’ve already scored 900 or so. But deep down, I don’t think that way.
“Right now, I’m enjoying the moment. I know I don’t have many years left to play, but the little time I do have, I have to enjoy it to the fullest.”
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2. Fabio – 1355 games
Like Ronaldo, Fabio is still playing professionally to this day.
The Brazilian goalkeeper started his career in 1997 and has now amassed over 1300 appearances at club level.
He’s never been capped by Brazil, despite playing virtually his entire career in the Brazilian top flight.
The 45-year-old played the bulk of his games for Cruzeiro, but has played for Fluminense since 2022.
During 2025 alone, he’s racked up 60 appearances for Fluminense and seemingly doesn’t plan on retiring any time soon.
1. Peter Shilton – 1504 games
Shilton’s record of 1504 games is going to take some beating.
The goalkeeper played professionally from 1966 to 1997 and spent his entire professional career playing in England.
To this day, he’s still England’s record appearance maker with 125 caps, although Harry Kane is only 16 appearances from catching him up.
With over 1500 games under his belt, his number one spot on this list is safe for the foreseeable future.
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