Legendary strikers Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry have been unveiled as the first two inductees into the Premier League’s new Hall of Fame.
Shearer is the league’s all-time leading goalscorer, having hit the net 260 times in 441 appearances.
The former England captain fired Blackburn to the title in 1994/95 and he went on to spend a decade at boyhood club Newcastle, where he became the all-time leading goalscorer.
Henry, meanwhile, is regarded as arguably the league’s greatest ever player.
He won the title twice with Arsenal, including during the famous 2003/04 Invincibles season, and won the Golden Boot a record four times. As with Shearer at Newcastle, he ended his Gunners career as the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, with his 175 Premier League goals coming in just 258 appearances.
“To be inducted alongside Alan Shearer as the two first inductees into the Premier League Hall of Fame is more than special,” Henry said.
“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.
“If you asked me at the start of my career about entering the Hall of Fame, I wouldn’t have believed you. It’s an amazing honour.”
The pair are the first two players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and will feature in a special programme on Sky Sports on Monday evening.
During that show, voting will open to see another six players inducted, from a shortlist of 23 retired players.
