The players with the most appearances in the 21st century

Lionel Messi has broken many records in his glittering career with Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Miami and Argentina, however, there is one list where he is not in the top three. On Tuesday, the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) announced the list of players who have played the most games so far in the 21st century and Messi is in fourth place, with 1,047 games played.

Cristiano Ronaldo first

Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list with 1,204 games and the Portuguese forward is still playing for both club (Al Nassr) and country, making his record quite difficult to beat. Current Fluminense goalkeeper Fábio is second on the list with 1,202 appearances in his career to date. He has also played for Brazilian sides Vasco da Gama and Cruzeiro. In third place is Brazil’s Dani Alves, with 1,056 appearances for Bahia, Sevilla, Barcelona, Juventus, PSG, Sao Paulo and Mexican side Pumas UNAM.

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Messi’s appearances

Messi, 36, made 778 appearances for Barcelona, 180 for Argentina, 75 for PSG and, so far, 14 for MLS club Inter Miami. Ronaldo started his career with Portuguese outfit Sporting CP, before going on to play for Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al Nassr, as well as Portugal.

The 10 players with most games played in 21st century