Go back to the middle of February and many Brighton fans would have greeted the news headline James Milner retires with either a shrug of the shoulders and maybe even some joy.
Milner you see was being gifted token substitute outings to edge him closer to breaking the Premier League appearance record of Gareth Barry. To the detriment of Brighton & Hove Albion.
There was his introduction with three minutes remaining of a 2-0 defeat at Liverpool. Done purely for Milner to get a nice reception from the Anfield crowd.
It effectively turned what little remained of this Premier League fixture into Soccer Aid. Milner got a standing ovation, as if he were Joel Dommett coming off the bench in the name of charity.
To make matters worse, Milner sent out a social media post afterwards thanking Liverpool fans for their fantastic reception. No mention of the Albion supporters who made a 540 mile round trip to Merseyside 12 days before Christmas.
One month later and Milner came on for Carlos Baleba with 10 minutes remaining at Craven Cottage. Brighton were drawing 1-1 with Fulham and on the verge of picking up a useful point.
The Albion though went onto concede a 95th minute goal from a free kick given away in the exact sort of area Baleba had been brilliantly patrolling before his withdrawal. One point dropped in injury time.
Worse was to come seven days later. Brighton led Everton 1-0 in the fifth minute of sixth added when Fabian Hurzeler introduced Milner for Pascal Gross.
The substitution meant more time being added on. Time in which Beto equalised for the Toffees just 30 seconds after Milner came on.
Milner and the post February Brighton turnaround
Those matches against Liverpool, Fulham and Everton came amid that absolutely woeful run of one win in 13.
Nobody offering daily football betting tips would have suggested backing Brighton to finish eighth at that point in the season. The Championship seemed more likely than the Albion being in Champions League contention.
Yet eighth is where Brighton ended to secure Conference League and bring European football to Sussex for just the second season in 125 years. And Milner played a massive part in it.
Hurzeler made a significant change in approach for the trip to Brentford at the end of February. The Albion adopted a more direct style of play and switched up the midfield.
Milner came into the starting XI to partner Gross with Jack Hinshewlood deployed further forward as a number 10.
Brighton beat the Bees 1-0 on the afternoon when Milner surpassed Barry to play more Premier League games than anyone since Sky Sports invented football in 1992.
It was an apt way for Milner to break the record. Much more apt than five minute cameos here and there which ended up costing Brighton points.
From Brentford onwards, Milner and Gross became arguably the chief reason why the Albion went from one win in 13 to four wins in five matches.
Unfortunately for Milner, he picked up an injury between Brighton beating Liverpool 2-1 at the Amex on Saturday 21st March and their next game away at Burnley three weeks later.
Milner only returned for the final three matches of the season, starting the final day defeat to Manchester United.
And whilst the Albion continued their good run with Yasin Ayari and then Baleba partnering Gross during Milner’s absence, the 40-year-old was still instrumental in getting Brighton out of the rut.
James Milner turns down new Brighton contract and retires
Brighton wanted to keep Milner for another season and offered him a new contract for 2026-27. Milner though turned down the offer and instead retires after a 24 year professional career in which he played 658 Premier League matches.
In total, Milner made 903 appearances across all competitions and earned 61 full caps for England. He scored 86 goals, registered 135 assists and picked up 110 yellow cards.
Milner’s medal collection consists of a Champions League, three Premier League titles, two FA Cups and fourth place in WAB Brighton Look-a-like of the Season 2024-25 for his resemblance to the comedian Lee Evans.
Given the way Milner finished 2025-26, he would definitely have been a good player for Brighton to have around next season.
The Albion will require greater squad depth to cope with the added workload of Conference League football.
Losing the experience of Milner is also a blow. With Solly March and Adam Webster also departing, Brighton have lost a combined 39 seasons of top flight experience and almost 1500 appearances.
Milner has proven over the past three months that he still has what it takes to make a meaningful contribution at Premier League level.
That James Milner retires with Brighton fans sad to see him go is testament to that – given how little esteem he was held in as recently as February.
Milner will be missed by Brighton.
What next for James Milner as he retires?
As James Milner retires, is this also goodbye to Brighton? The assumption had been when the Albion signed Milner in the summer of 2023 that he was coming in with as much of an eye on his post-playing career as what he was bringing immediately to the pitch.
Milner appears to have all the attributes needed to become a very good coach. Something Brighton would presumably like to tap into.
After breaking the Premier League appearance record, Milner spoke to talkSPORT about his future plans after retiring.
“I have done my badges and things like that,” he said. “Some days I think it is a really good idea. Other days you see managers getting a new contract and then sacked six weeks later. That doesn’t look too appealing.”
“Jurgen Klopp always said to me that whenever you finish, it is important you have a rest when you’ve been 100 miles an hour for as long as I have. So I think whenever that happens, that will be the first port of call and we will see where we go from there.”
Watch this space.
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