Fluminense keeper breaks Shilton appearance record

Fabio started all six matches for Fluminense at the Club World Cup, keeping three clean sheets

Brazilian goalkeeper Fabio Deivson Lopes Maciel has broken the record held by former England international Peter Shilton for most competitive appearances in world football, says his club Fluminense.

The 44-year-old made his 1,391st appearance in the last 16 of the Copa Sudamericana - the South American equivalent of the Europa League - beating America de Cali 2-0 at the Maracana.

Fabio made his professional debut in 1997 and has spent his entire career in Brazil, representing Uniao Bandeirante, Atletico Paranaense, Vasco da Gama, Cruzeiro and Fluminense.

Most of his appearances came at Cruzeiro (976) between 2005 and 2022 while he made 150 for Vasco da Gama and 30 for Uniao Bandeirante.

His record-breaking outing on Tuesday was his 235th match for Fluminense.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, Shilton held the record with 1,390 appearances but he claims he has played 1,387 (three fewer).

But Fabio, who has never played for his country despite winning the Under-17 World Cup in 1997, is only being recognised by his club as the outright record holder now that he has passed the 1,390 tally.

There were questions about the actual number Fabio was chasing.

Shilton, now 75, is recorded as having played 1,249 games in his club career and a record 125 England appearances, taking him to 1,374 appearances.

According to England Football Online, Shilton played 13 times for England Under-23s, which would take us to the 1,387 tally Shilton believes he has.

Whether the 13 should count as a senior appearance is up for debate but Fluminense have now claimed the record for their goalkeeper.

The club and fans paid tribute to Fabio before and after the match in Brazil while he wore a shirt with a special patch to celebrate the milestone.

"I have to thank everyone who is part of my life - my father, my mother, my sisters, my friends, my wife. I try to be a good human being," he said.

"The important thing is to help my team-mates. I am grateful, but without God nothing would be possible."

Fabio joined Fluminense in 2022 and won the Copa Libertadores the following year when they beat Boca Juniors in the final.

He also started all six games at the Club World Cup as Fluminense reached the semi-finals but lost to eventual winners Chelsea.

He made history at the tournament in the United States with a record-breaking 507th clean sheet - overtaking former Italy international Gianluigi Buffon.

In May, Fluminense handed Fabio a contract extension to keep him at the club until December 2026, by which time he will be 46.

The ultimate record - analysis

Mani Djazmi - BBC Sport reporter

Simone Inzaghi stood aghast while Kalidou Koulibaly's celebrations died mid-roar.

On the floor, a 44-year-old man was defying the thump of a heavy landing to bounce back up.

He was Fabio, the lithe goalkeeper of Fluminense. He had just pulled off one of the saves of the Club World Cup - swiping Koulibaly's powerful, angled header past the post with his left hand in Flu's quarter-final win against Al-Hilal.

Fluminense are only Fabio's fifth club in his 28-year career - 16 of his team-mates were born after his professional debut.

His only international experiences came last century, when he won the 1997 Under-17s World Cup, with Ronaldinho a team-mate, and reached the semi-finals of the under-20 version two years later.

His back-up then was Julio Cesar, who went on to win the Champions League with Inter Milan and whom Fabio could never dislodge from the national team.

But Julio Cesar, a year older than Fabio, retired in 2018.

Meanwhile Fabio, according to the CIES Football Observatory, played 5,850 minutes of football in 12 months from July 2024. That's an average of 65 matches, more than any keeper has ever played in a calendar year.

But how fitting to have marked this ultimate record at the iconic Maracana Stadium.