LONDON (AFP): Andrew Cole and John Terry have been inducted into the Premier League’s Hall of Fame, the English top flight announced on Monday.
The two men were selected from a shortlist of 15 former players after votes from fans worldwide were combined with those of the Premier League awards panel.
They join Ashley Cole, who has also received the league’s highest honour this year, and become the 23rd and 24th inductees.
The three former England players will be recognised at an event in London on Tuesday.
Cole is the fourth-highest goalscorer in Premier League history, with 187 goals in 414 appearances, and won five titles with Manchester United.
The 52-year-old played for several other clubs including Newcastle, where he won the Golden Boot in his first Premier League season.
“My dad wanted me to play cricket, but I said, ‘No dad, I think I’m good at football’,” said Cole.
“Looking back at my career always fills me with great pride and puts a smile on my face.”
Terry, 43, is the most successful Chelsea captain in the club’s history, leading the team to five Premier League titles.
He holds the record for most Premier League clean sheets as a defender, with 214, and is the league’s all-time highest-scoring defender, with 41 goals from his 492 top-flight appearances.
“I was lucky to share a dressing room with so many top players,” he said. “To captain a club like Chelsea and achieve what we did as a team is so special to me.”
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said Cole and Terry were “worthy additions” to the Hall of Fame.
Masters said Cole was “among the greatest strikers we have seen” while Terry helped transform Chelsea into a Premier League force.
The Hall of Fame was launched in 2021, with inaugural inductees including David Beckham, Eric Cantona, Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, and Alan Shearer.
