Former England striker Alan Shearer and ex-France forward Thierry Henry have become the first players to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame.
Shearer is the Premier League’s record scorer, with 260 goals for Blackburn Rovers – with whom he won the title in 1995 – and Newcastle United.
Henry scored a club record 175 Premier League goals in 258 appearances for Arsenal.
A 23-man shortlist for six more inductees has also been announced.
They will be decided by a fans’ vote, which closes on 9 May at 18:00 BST. In order to be eligible for induction in 2021, players must have been retired by 1 August, 2020.
Full 23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
Shearer was the first player to reach 100 Premier League goals. He scored 112 in 138 league matches for Blackburn, and 148 in 303 for Newcastle.
“When you look at some of the unbelievable players to have graced the Premier League – week in, week out, year in, year out – I feel very honoured to join the Hall of Fame,” said 50-year-old Shearer, who moved from Southampton to Blackburn before the Premier League era began in 1992-93.
“I have to thank all of my team-mates, as well as the managers and coaches that I’ve worked with.
“All I ever wanted to be was a professional footballer. It was my dream to do that, my dream to win trophies and my dream to score at St James’ Park, to wear the number nine black-and-white shirt and it was fantastic. I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Henry was the league’s top scorer in a season a record four times, won the title twice and was part of the Arsenal side that went unbeaten in the league in the 2003-04 season.
Henry also provided 74 assists during eight Premier League seasons, including a joint-record 20 in 2002-03.
“To be inducted alongside Alan Shearer as the two first inductees into the Premier League Hall of Fame is more than special,” said 43-year-old Henry.
“When I was young, I was just trying to make sure I could get a pair of boots and now we’re talking about the Hall of Fame.
“During my career I wanted to play hard and make sure I was fighting for the cause, because that’s all the fans want to see.”
Source: BBC
