Brazil keeper Fabio breaks Shilton’s world record for most games | Football News

Brazil’s Fabio has surpassed former England keeper Peter Shilton’s record for the most appearances in men’s football.

Fluminense goalkeeper Fabio on Tuesday claimed the record for the most competitive appearances in men’s football when the Brazilian played for a 1,391st time.

The 44-year-old on Saturday equalled the landmark held by former England stopper Peter Shilton and Fabio has now gone one better following a 2-0 win over Colombia’s America de Cali at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.

Fluminense and Brazilian media say Fabio now stands alone in football history, although neither FIFA nor regional body CONMEBOL has declared it a record.

“Sometimes we don’t realise the importance of such a significant achievement as breaking this record, which has stood for many years,” Fabio, who has spent his entire career in Brazil, said following his clean sheet in the Copa Sudamericana last-16 second leg.

The home fans chanted, “Fabio is the best goalkeeper in Brazil,” and he received a commemorative plaque to mark the achievement.

“No one plays so many matches without a level of professionalism like his,” said Fluminense coach Renato Gaucho.

“He’ll undoubtedly continue to play for a long time.

“It will be difficult for another player to surpass his record.”

Fabio won the Copa Libertadores with Fluminense in 2023 and was part of the side that reached the semifinals of the Club World Cup in the United States this summer.

They were only stopped by eventual champions, Chelsea.

He made 976 appearances for Cruzeiro between 2005 and 2022, after playing 30 times for Uniao Bandeirante and another 150 games for Vasco da Gama.

His record outing against America de Cali was his 235th match for Fluminense.

Fabio began his career in 1997, the year that Shilton retired, the latter being famed in particular for being beaten to a cross by Argentina’s Diego Maradona in the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal in the quarterfinal of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

Shilton considers his total number of appearances to be 1,387, but Guinness World Records puts the number at 1,390.

Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo is third on the list of all-time appearances, having racked up 1283 matches in his time with Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and now Al Nassr.