The 18 players who have played the most official games in football history - Ronaldo 3rd

Cristiano Ronaldo‘s longevity in professional football is something to behold.

For close to 20 years, the 37-year-old superstar has been operating at the very highest level with Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and the Portuguese national team.

Ronaldo has managed to avoid serious injury throughout his career up until now and that means he’s played an enormous amount of games.

In fact, no other outfield player in history has taken to the pitch more times than him.

At the time of writing, Ronaldo has played in 1,114 professional games, which is more than the likes of Javier Zanetti, Roberto Carlos and Ryan Giggs.

Only two players past or present have more appearances under their belts and, unsurprisingly, both are goalkeepers.

The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) have revealed the 18 footballers to have amassed 1,000 games or more and we’ve provided all the key data for you to check out below.

18. Yasuhito Endo (Japan, 1998-) | 1,000 games

17. Dani Alves (Brazil, 2001-) | 1,006 games

16. Frank Lampard (England, 1995-2016) | 1,110 games

15. Noel Bailie (Northern Ireland, 1989-2011) | 1,011 games

14. Xavi Hernandez (Spain, 1998-2019) | 1,017 games

13. Ryan Giggs (Wales, 1990-2014) | 1,027 games

12. Paolo Maldini (Italy, 1985-2009) | 1,028 games

11. Raul Gonzalez (Spain, 1994-2015) | 1,034 games

10. Glenn Ferguson (Northern Ireland, 1987-2011) | 1,041 games

9. Pat Jennings (Northern Ireland, 1963-1986) | 1,042 games

8. Iker Casillas (Spain, 1999-2019) | 1,048 games

7. Ray Clemence (England, 1965-1988) | 1,069 games

6. Gianluigi Buffon (Italy, 1995-) | 1,069 games

5. Roberto Carlos (Brazil, 1991-2015) | 1,090 games

4. Javier Zanetti (Argentina, 1992-2014) | 1,100 games