Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and former professional player who played as a striker.

He is the Premier League's record goalscorer with 260 goals.

Alan Shearer was born in the Gosforth area of Newcastle upon Tyne on 13 August 1970, the son of Anne and sheet-metal worker Alan Shearer.

His parents were working class.

His father encouraged him to play football in his youth, and Shearer continued with the sport as he progressed through school.

He was educated at Gosforth Central Middle School and Gosforth High School.

Growing up, he played on the streets of his hometown and was originally a midfielder because "it meant [he] could get more involved in the games".

Shearer captained his school team and helped a Newcastle City Schools team win a seven-a-side tournament at St James' Park, before joining the amateur Wallsend Boys Club as a teenager.

It was while playing for the Wallsend club that he was spotted by Southampton's scout Jack Hixon, which resulted in him spending his summers training with the club's youth team, a time he would later refer to as "the making of me".

Shearer had successful trials for First Division clubs West Bromwich Albion, Manchester City and Newcastle United, before being offered a youth contract with Southampton in April 1986.

Shearer was promoted to the first team after spending two years with the youth squad.

Shearer ended the 1987–88 season with three goals in five games, and was rewarded with his first professional contract.

Despite this auspicious start to his career, Shearer was only eased into the first team gradually and made just ten goalless appearances for the club the following season.

Throughout his career Shearer was recognised for his strength, which, during his time at Southampton, enabled him to retain the ball and provide opportunities for teammates.

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.

He made his professional debut for Southampton on 26 March 1988, coming on as a substitute in a First Division fixture at Chelsea, before prompting national headlines in his full debut at The Dell two weeks later.

He scored a hat-trick, helping the team to a 4–2 victory against Arsenal, thus becoming the youngest player – at 17 years, 240 days – to score a hat-trick in the top division, breaking Jimmy Greaves' 30-year–old record.

Playing as a lone striker between wide men, Rod Wallace and Matt Le Tissier, Shearer scored three goals in 26 appearances in the 1989–90 season, and in the next, four goals in 36 games.

His performances in the centre of the Saints attack were soon recognised by the fans, who voted him their Player of the Year for 1991.

In the middle of 1991, Shearer was a member of the England national under-21 football squad in the Toulon Tournament in Toulon, France.

Shearer was the star of the tournament where he scored seven goals in four games.

It was during the 1991–92 season that Shearer rose to national prominence.

13 goals in 41 appearances for the Saints led to an England call-up; he scored on his debut, and was strongly linked in the press with a summer move to Manchester United.

A possible move for Shearer was being mentioned in the media during late autumn of 1991, but he rejected talk of a transfer and vowed to see out the season with Southampton, resisting the temptation of a possible transfer to the two clubs who headed the title race for most of the season.

He was named Football Writers' Association Player of the Year in 1994 and won the PFA Player of the Year award in 1995.

Whilst at Blackburn Rovers, he won the 1994–95 Premier League, as well as two consecutive Premier League Golden Boots.

In 1996, he came third in both Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards.

In the summer of 1996, he joined his hometown club Newcastle United for a then world record £15 million.

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 led Newcastle to the 1998 FA Cup and 1999 FA Cup finals, and eventually became the club's all-time top scorer.

He went on to represent England at 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000.

Shearer retired from international football following the end of the latter competition.

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 retired at the end of the 2005–06 season.

For the England national team, Shearer appeared 63 times and scored 30 goals.

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.