Andy Cole and John Terry have been inducted into the Premier League’s Hall of Fame. The pair join Ashley Cole, who was voted in earlier this year.
The Hall of Fame honours players and managers that have made significant contributions to the success of the top flight, with 22 figures already inducted prior to Monday.
The duo were selected from a shortlist of 15 former professionals after votes from fans worldwide were combined with those of the Premier League Awards Panel.
Ashley Cole received the league’s highest honour this year, while Andy Cole and Terry become the 23rd and 24th inductees. All three will be recognised at a celebratory event in London on Tuesday.
Andy Cole represented seven different clubs while Terry spent his entire 19-year top-flight stint at Chelsea. Cole holds a number of records that remain to this day – as well as a few that were eclipsed recently by Erling Haaland.
No player has ever had more goal involvements in one season (48 goals and assists in 1993-94), while only the Norwegian has more goals in their debut campaign than Cole’s 34, and has managed to reach 50 goals in fewer than the United legend’s 65 games.
Cole – the league’s fourth-highest goalscorer – was a natural finisher; he was the first player to score five in a single match, and one of only three to have two or more hat-tricks at two clubs.
After moving to Manchester United from Newcastle in 1995 for a British-record transfer fee, Cole won five Premier League titles, including three in a row between 1998/99 and 2000/01, delivering key goals in United’s historic treble-winning campaign.
“I’m proud of everything I’ve achieved in football, which is thanks to my family, my coaches and my team-mates, and being inducted into the Hall of Fame makes me very proud,” he said.
“Football is a game of ups and downs, but I enjoyed every single minute of my career. My dad wanted me to play cricket, but I said, ‘No dad, I think I’m good at football’. Looking back at my career always fills me with great pride and puts a smile on my face.
“The reason you play football and compete at the highest level is to win major honours. It was so, so special for me to win so many trophies and five Premier Leagues. To get my first one was crazy and after that I just wanted to win more.”
He is joined by Terry, Chelsea’s most decorated skipper and a former England captain.
Only Tony Adams (118) has a better minutes-to-goals-conceded record than Terry’s 111, the defender the only player to take part in every one of the Blues’ title-winning seasons.
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Former Arsenal and Chelsea defender Ashley Cole has been inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame
Terry is also the record holder for most defensive clean sheets in the league at 214, and is the division’s top-scoring defender with 41 goals.
“I’m very grateful to have been voted into the Premier League Hall of Fame,” he said. “I’m a player that certainly gave my all whenever I stepped out on the pitch and to be recognised in this way makes me really proud.
“It’s great to have joined my former team-mates who have already been inducted, and to be inducted in the same year as Ashley Cole, who was an incredible player and a close friend.
Terry was part of Chelsea’s first Champions League success
“I was lucky to share a dressing room with so many top players. To captain a club like Chelsea and achieve what we did as a team is so special to me. The Premier League is the best league in the world, which every player hopes to play in, and I’m very proud to have won it five times.”
All inductees receive a medallion engraved with their name and the year of their induction, along with a £10,000 donation made by the Premier League to a charity of their choice.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters added: “Andrew Cole and John Terry are both worthy additions to the Premier League Hall of Fame thanks to the contributions they made to their respective teams and their achievements in the game.
“Cole’s goalscoring exploits and all-round play place him among the greatest strikers we have seen. After making his mark in the competition with Newcastle United, he became an integral part of the Manchester United team that dominated the early years of the Premier League.
“Terry’s defensive acumen and leadership qualities were essential in transforming Chelsea into a Premier League force. He led by example over a long period of time and played a key role in all five of their title successes.
“Congratulations to both players, and to Ashley Cole, who has already been inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.”
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