Fluminense goalkeeper Fábio Deivson Lopes Maciel has broken a long-standing world record for the most competitive football appearances, the Brazilian club announced.
The 43-year-old, who has played his entire 28-year career in Brazil, reached 1,391 official matches—surpassing the 1,390 mark set by former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton nearly three decades ago, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
There has been some uncertainty over exactly how many appearances Shilton racked up, but the Guinness Book of Records has the figure at 1,390.
“It is a great satisfaction to reach this record wearing the shirt of Fluminense, which opened its doors to me,” Fabio was quoted as saying. “Now it’s [time] to continue playing and looking for new achievements with each game.”
The 44-year-old was awarded a commemorative plate, painting and a shirt marking his achievement, which he wore during his 1,391st game - a 2-0 win over America de Cali in the Copa Sudamericana.
Club president Mario Bittencourt on hand to celebrate the milestone and a video of tributes was played before the match at the Maracana, Fluminense’s home ground.
Fabio’s career spans eras in football: he played in the 1997 Fifa Under-17 World Cup alongside Ronaldinho, while 16 of his current Fluminense teammates were born after he debuted professionally.
Fabio joined the club in 2022 and has made 235 appearances for the Rio side, winning the Copa Libertadores the year after he joined and reaching the final of this summer’s Club World Cup, where he started all six games.
The majority of his record 1,391 appearances came in a 16-year spell at Cruzeiro from 2005 to 2021, where he featured 976 times. He also played 150 times for Vasco da Gama and 30 for Uniao Bandeirante. The veteran also spent a season on loan at Atletico Paranaense but made no appearances there.
Unlike Shilton, who picked up 125 international caps, none of Fabio’s appearances have come playing for his country.
He also holds the record for the most clean sheets in football history, setting a new benchmark of 507 in a 0-0 draw with Mamelodi Sundowns at this year’s Club World Cup, overtaking former Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon in the standings.
