Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer CBE DL is an English football pundit and former professional player who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of the greatest players in Premier League history, he is the league's record goalscorer with 260 goals. He was named Football Writers' Association Player of the Year in 1994 and won the PFA Player of the Year award in 1995. In 1996 he came third in both Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. In 2004 he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. Shearer was one of the first two players inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021. Shearer played his entire career in the top level of English football. He started his career at Southampton in 1988 before moving to Blackburn Rovers in 1992, where he established himself as among the most prolific goalscorers in Europe and won the 1994–95 Premier League. In the summer of 1996, he joined his hometown club Newcastle United for a then world record £15 million, and in his first season won his third consecutive Premier League Golden Boot. He played in the 1998 FA Cup and 1999 FA Cup finals, captaining the team in the latter, and eventually became the club's all-time top scorer. He retired at the end of the 2005–06 season. For the England national team, Shearer appeared 63 times and scored 30 goals. UEFA Euro 1996 was his biggest success at international football; England reached the semi-finals and Shearer was awarded the UEFA Euro Golden Boot and was named in the UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament. He went on to captain England at 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000, then retired from international football. Since retiring as a player in 2006, Shearer has worked as a television pundit for the BBC. In 2009, he briefly left his BBC role to become Newcastle United's manager in the last eight games of their 2008–09 season, in an unsuccessful attempt to save them from relegation. Shearer is a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), a Deputy Lieutenant of Northumberland, a Freeman of Newcastle upon Tyne and an honorary Doctor of Civil Law of Northumbria and Newcastle Universities.