Every Premier League Hall of Fame inductee
By Tom Gott
The Premier League Hall of Fame was established in 2021 to honour the best players in the history of the division and those who have made the biggest impact since it was founded in 1992.
For a player to be eligible for a place in the Hall of Fame, they must have made 250 appearances in the Premier League or achieved one of the following:
- Appeared in more than 200 Premier League appearances for one club
- Selected to any of the Team of the Decade or 20-Year Anniversary teams
- Won a Premier League Golden Boot or Golden Glove
- Been voted as Premier League Player of the Season
- Won three Premier League titles
- Scored 100 Premier League goals, or goalkeepers who have recorded 100 Premier League clean sheets
Here is every inductee in the Premier League Hall of Fame.
2021
Alan Shearer
The highest goalscorer in the history of the competition, Shearer racked up 260 goals across his time with Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United, winning the title with the former in 1995.
Thierry Henry
Henry joined Shearer as the first inductees to the Hall of Fame. Widely heralded as one of the best the division has ever seen, Henry scored 175 league goals in 258 appearances for Arsenal.
Eric Cantona
Cantona was the first player to be inducted through a fan vote. The Frenchman was a core part of Manchester United's success during the 1990s.
Roy Keane
Another ex-United captain, Keane was the most expensive player in British football when he joined from Nottingham Forest 1993. He made 366 appearances for the club, winning seven league titles.
Frank Lampard
Chelsea's leading scorer won three league titles at Stamford Bridge, with some of his 177 league goals also coming during his time with West Ham and Manchester City.
Dennis Bergkamp
A part of the Arsenal Invincibles, as well as a further two title-winning sides, Bergkamp's strike against Newcastle in 2002 was voted the best goal in the first 25 years of the Premier League.
Steven Gerrard
Gerrard was the first inductee never to have won the Premier League title. Across his 504 appearances for Liverpool, he racked up 121 goals and 98 assists.
David Beckham
Rounding out the 2021 inductees was Beckham, a six-time champion with United and one of the most recognisable players in the history of the game.
2022
Wayne Rooney
Rooney was one of the first two to be inducted in 2022. Behind only Shearer in the goalscoring charts, the former United and Everton man ended his career on 208 strikes.
Patrick Vieira
One of the biggest icons in Arsenal history, Vieira won three titles with the Gunners before adding an FA Cup triumph with Manchester City later in his career.
Sergio Aguero
No foreign player has ever scored more Premier League goals than Aguero's 184, with the Argentine adding a cool five league titles with Man City.
Didier Drogba
Once the top-scoring African in league history, Drogba won two Golden Boots as he fired Chelsea to four league titles across two spells with the club.
Vincent Kompany
Kompany won four of his own league titles with Man City, playing a major role in establishing the team as one of Europe's finest.
Peter Schmeichel
The only goalkeeper to have won the Premier League's Player of the Season award, Schmeichel spent time with Aston Villa and Man City but is better known for his five league titles at United.
Paul Scholes
Speaking of successful United icons, you won't find many more decorated than Scholes. 499 appearances, 107 goals and a mental 11 titles. Not bad.
Ian Wright
Arsenal's leading goalscorer before Henry came to town, Wright managed 113 Premier League goals in 213 appearances across his time with both Arsenal and West Ham.
2023
Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson was one half of the first pair of managers to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame. He is Britain's most successful manager ever and brought 13 Premier League titles to Manchester United.
Arsene Wenger
Arsene Wenger revolutionised English football when he arrived as Arsenal manager in the 1990s and would create some of the best Premier League sides ever, including the 2003/04 Invincibles.
Tony Adams
Ah, the Premier League's original hard-man no-nonsense defender. Tony Adams spent 19 years with Arsenal including 10 in the Premier League era, and is immortalised with a statue outside the Emirates Stadium.
Petr Cech
Little did Chelsea fans know in 2004 that their relatively obscure signing from Rennes would go down as one of the Premier League's greatest ever goalkeepers. There was no beating Petr Cech at his very best.
Rio Ferdinand
There weren't many - if any at all - defenders more comfortable with the ball at their feet in the mid-2000s than Rio Ferdinand, one of the sport's first truly great modern centre-backs.
2024
Ashley Cole
Ashley Cole spent 15 years as a Premier League player across spells at Arsenal and Chelsea, though it's strange to think he spent more time and won more league titles with the former.
2024 nominations
Two further players from the following will join Cole in 2024's list of inductions:
- Sol Campbell
- Michael Carrick
- Andy Cole
- Jermain Defoe
- Cesc Fabregas
- Les Ferdinand
- Robbie Fowler
- Eden Hazard
- Gary Neville
- Michael Owen
- David Silva
- John Terry
- Yaya Toure
- Edwin van der Sar
- Nemanja Vidic
READ MORE ON THE PREMIER LEAGUE HALL OF FAME
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