Top of the list: Ward & Palace's biggest Premier League appearance-makers

Club

13 May 2025

It has been announced Joel Ward will depart Crystal Palace this summer after 13 years in South London, having – in that time – played a pivotal role in taking the club up to the Premier League, and keeping us challenging there.

Indeed, in April 2024, Ward became the first-ever Palace player to feature in 300 Premier League matches for the club, when he turned out for Crystal Palace against his former side Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

With Ward describing the occasion as a 'see you later' rather than a 'goodbye', it's time to look back in appreciation towards the longevity of our biggest Premier League appearance maker, with our top 10 Premier League appearance makers...

10. Christian Benteke – 162 appearances

The towering presence of Christian Benteke was a prominent feature of Palace’s offensive arsenal for six Premier League seasons between 2016 and 2022, having joined from Liverpool.

The Belgian scored 35 times in 162 Premier League games for the Eagles, finishing top scorer in his debut campaign (16/17) with 15 league goals, a season in which he missed just two top-flight matches.

As Chairman Steve Parish himself surmised upon Benteke’s departure: “Christian has played a crucial role in this club’s Premier League journey, making an immediate impact after signing and playing a central role in the squad ever since.”

All Benteke Goals from a Townsend Assist

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9. Scott Dann – 164 appearances

Seven-and-a-half years’ superb service are reflected in Dann’s 164 Palace top-flight appearances – a figure which surely would have been much higher, were it not for the cruel cruciate knee ligament injury which limited the playing time in his latter years in red and blue.

The solid centre-back will nevertheless remain fondly remembered for representing the club with distinction after joining from Blackburn Rovers in January 2014, going on to be named Player of the Season in 2014/15, Players’ Player of the Season the following season, and score an impressive 13 Premier League goals.

7. Tyrick Mitchell & Andros Townsend – 168 appearances

Palace Academy graduate Mitchell is an England international and holds the record as the youngest player in Crystal Palace history to reach 100, and subsequently 150, Premier League appearances for the club.

What a journey it has been – and continues to be – for the sprightly full-back.

My Photo Album | Episode 2 | Tyrick Mitchell

It’s impossible to recall Andros Townsend’s Premier League feats with Palace without landing on one moment in particular: a memorable effort in a 3-2 win over Manchester City in December 2018, which was nominated for the FIFA Puskas Award and won Premier League Goal of the Season.

But the winger’s consistent output was equally impressive, having missed just four Premier League matches in his first three seasons with the club after signing from Newcastle in July 2016. Playing on average over 33 top-flight games each season, Townsend remains another popular figure in South London.

6. Luka Milivojevic – 183 appearances

Another former Captain Fantastic departed SE25 in the summer of 2023 with 198 appearances for the club in all competitions under his belt, including 183 in the Premier League.

The Serbian’s 28 goals place him third in Palace’s all-time Premier League standings behind only Ebere Eze, Benteke, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Wilfried Zaha; he was the club’s top scorer in both the 2017/18 and 2018/19 campaigns; and he captained the side since 2018, having only joined the Eagles from Olympiacos the previous year.

In the words of Chairman Steve Parish: “Luka contributed an immense amount to the team both on and off the pitch, and was a crucial figure in our long stay in the Premier League.”

5. Jordan Ayew – 195 appearances

A consistent performer across five seasons in a Palace shirt, Ghanaian forward Ayew played 20 times during his first season in red and blue (2018/19, on loan from Swansea) – and would only miss 13 Premier League games in the four seasons following.

Offering endeavour, versatility and quality, arguably Ayew’s best campaign was in 2019/20 when he was named both Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season, but the experienced forward impressed in a variety of roles in attack until his departure at the beginning of this season.

4. Jeffrey Schlupp – 220 appearances

Now in his 12th season as a Premier League player – two-and-a-half with Leicester, the remainder in red and blue, prior to joining Celtic on loan in January 2025 – Jeffrey Schlupp has formed part of sides both title-winning and battling for survival, fulfilling a myriad of positional roles within both.

A massive 220 of Schlupp's Palace appearances have been in the Premier League, with his energy, experience and quality on the ball seeing him enjoy a personal-best 34 top-flight appearances in 2022/23, during which he netted three times, including an important strike in a 4-3 win over West Ham United.

3. James McArthur – 240 appearances

Industrious midfielder McArthur – over the course of nine seasons – made 253 appearances in all competitions in a Palace shirt, playing over 19,000 minutes and scoring 19 times.

A virtual ever-present during his first six seasons in red and blue, McArthur missed just six Premier League games between the summers of 2017 and 2020, totalling 240 appearances in the competition and notching match-winning goals against the likes of Watford, Burnley and Arsenal.

It was only fitting that, on the occasion of his appearance for the club, he returned from long-term injury to wear the captain’s armband against Aston Villa in early 2023. A true leader, on and off the pitch.

Players and Staff send their messages to James McArthur

2. Wilfried Zaha – 291 appearances

Perhaps the club's greatest-ever player?

Raised within earshot of Selhurst Park and graduating from the Academy system, Wilfried Zaha became one of the best players in Palace history through over a decade's service to the club.

Zaha was the fulcrum to innumerable Palace successes since his debut in March 2010 and, having been pivotal to firing his team into the Premier League, won three back-to-back club Player of the Year trophies between 2016 and 2018 – an achievement matched only by Julian Speroni.

The winger also captained the side for the first time in his Palace career during the 20/21 campaign, with his first ever game with the armband being a 3-1 victory away at Old Trafford, where he netted twice; and in 2021/22 found the net 15 times in all competitions, a season-best, including a Premier League Goal of the Month winner against Norwich City in February 2022.

Little wonder, then, that a mural now adorns the wall at the junction of Park Road and Holmesdale Road, a stone’s throw away from Rothesay Road where Zaha was raised.

1. Joel Ward – 305 appearances

The undisputed No. 1 on this list, and the first-ever player to hit 300 Premier League games in red and blue – the number of milestones Ward has hit in red and blue is almost endless.

Ward first joined Palace at the start of the club’s successful promotion-winning season from the Championship, 2012/13, and has since accumulated the eighth-most appearances of any Palace player in history (363).

A consistent, dependable performer in the side across many a year, Ward was named club captain in 2023/24, when he was hailed as “the ultimate professional” by then-manager Roy Hodgson.

In April 2024, he became the first-ever Palace player to feature in 300 Premier League matches for the club.

Simply put – Wardy will always be one of South London's own.

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