Alan Shearer has said he never dreamed of being the Premier League's all-time top scorer after being named as one of the inaugural inductees into the competition's Hall of Fame.
"All I ever wanted to be was a professional footballer," Shearer said. "I never thought that one day I would be top of the Premier League goalscoring charts."
See: Premier League Hall of Fame
After scoring an unrivalled 260 goals in the competition at Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United, Shearer joins Arsenal's Thierry Henry as one of two initial inductees to a Hall of Fame reserved for the competition's greatest former players.
A three-time Golden Boot winner, Shearer racked up his 260 goals in 441 appearances, and his highest season haul of 34 was instrumental in Blackburn winning the 1994/95 Premier League title.
He retired in 2006 but has remained the league's all-time top scorer, and a number of former opponents and team-mates paid their tributes.
"I am proud to say it because he is my friend, he is the best goalscorer the Premier League has ever seen," said former Arsenal striker Ian Wright.
Tim Sherwood, who was captain of the title-winning Blackburn team, said: "Without Alan Shearer, there is no title for Blackburn in the 1994/95 season, it's as simple as that."
Chris Sutton, whose formidable strike partnership with Shearer garnered 49 goals during that title-winning campaign, added: "He was the number nine, he was the main man, he wanted to be the main man, he was absolutely ruthless."
Global broadcast
Shearer and Henry featured in a special television programme, which was broadcast at 18:00 BST on 26 April on Sky Sports Premier League in the UK, Premier League digital channels and around the world via the Premier League's international broadcast partners.
Kelly Cates interviewed the two icons as they looked back on their Premier League careers, with some special guests also making an appearance.
A shortlist of 23 additional nominees eligible to join the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021 was announced during the show, with fans invited to cast their vote up until 9 May and help select the remaining six inductees to the 2021 Premier League Hall of Fame.
Follow @premierleague and #PLHallOfFame on social media for further details.
Also in this series
Part 1: Shearer and Henry inducted into Hall of Fame
Part 3: Henry: I wanted to elevate the forward position
Part 4: Vote for your players to go into the Hall of Fame
Part 5: Hall of Fame broadcast reveals nominees for 2021
