Alan Shearer

About

Alan played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team. He is widely considered as one of the world’s greatest ever strikers. Since his retirement he has become a respected pundit with the BBC.

Alan Shearer OBE, DL made his professional debut with English top-flight club Southampton in 1988, scoring a hat-trick in the process. During several years on the south coast, he became known for his classic style of play, strength and goalscoring ability: he soon received an international call-up along with a transfer to Blackburn Rovers in 1992. During that season he became a regular in the England squad, and his 34-goal tally helped Blackburn secure the Premier League title in 1994–95.

He was named Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year in 1994 and won the PFA Player of the Year award in 1995. The 1995–96 season saw Shearer make his first Champions League appearances and finish as the top scorer in the Premier League with 31 goals.

He was also top scorer at Euro 1996 with England, scoring five goals, and in the 1996–97 Premier League, with 25 goals.

A world-record £15 million move to his boyhood heroes, Newcastle United, followed the Euro ’96 tournament, and Shearer spent the remainder of his career with the club.

Having retired as a player in 2006, Shearer now works as a television pundit for the BBC. After his retirement and following guest appearances, Shearer became a regular pundit for the BBC’s Match of the Day. He also formed part of the team which covered the 2006 World Cup for the BBC.

During his playing days, Shearer had been involved with the children’s charity the NSPCC, taking part in the organisation’s Full Stop campaign in 1999.

He scored 283 league goals in his career, including a record 260 in the Premier League, and a total of 422 in all competitions including international at all levels.

As well as his media work, he has raised substantial amounts of money for various national and local charities, both within and outside of sports. Shearer is an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), a Deputy Lieutenant of Northumberland, a Freeman of Newcastle upon Tyne and an honorary Doctor of Civil Law of Northumbria and Newcastle Universities.

In 2008, he raised over £300,000 for Sport Relief in a bike ride with fellow Match of the Day presenter Adrian Chiles – Shearer also played and scored twice in Soccer Aid, a game involving celebrities and former players at Wembley Stadium in September 2008, to raise money for UNICEF.

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 attempt to save them from relegation.

Alan is regularly seen on television and his successes as a player, and a manager, make him a top brand ambassador. He is also in demand for his exceptional motivational speeches.