Premier League announces 15-man shortlist for Hall of Fame 2023 with 6 Man Utd icons included
The Premier League has unveiled its shortlist of potential inductees for the Hall of Fame, which includes former Manchester United players Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville.
This is the third year in which players will be added to the Hall of Fame, with Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry being among the first group inducted in 2021, followed by Didier Drogba and Peter Schmeichel in 2022.
Managers Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger were also recently inducted. To be eligible for consideration in this year’s list, players must have retired by January 2023, and the current nominees represent some of the top talent in the history of the Premier League.
Among the nominees, Ferdinand and Neville are two of the six former Manchester United players, while their fellow defender Nemanja Vidic, midfielder Michael Carrick, striker Andy Cole, and former United and Liverpool striker Michael Owen also received nominations.
The list includes a strong representation of England internationals, such as Chelsea’s multiple title-winning pair Ashley Cole and John Terry, as well as Tony Adams, Sol Campbell, Jermain Defoe, Les Ferdinand, and Robbie Fowler.
In addition, the list features two foreign players with numerous league titles: goalkeeper Petr Cech, who was part of Chelsea’s early success under Jose Mourinho alongside Cole and Terry, and midfielder Yaya Toure, who won the league three times with Manchester City under three different managers.
“I’m truly delighted to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame,” former Man Utd boss Ferguson said after his own induction “It’s an honour when you receive recognition like this. However, it’s not just about me as a person. It’s about the job at Manchester United and the bond we had over many years, so I’m also proud for the club, the staff and my players.
“My job was to send the fans home happy. United’s history and my own expectations were the things that drove me, and I then had to try to develop all my players with the same expectations and make sure we could go out and achieve them.
“I feel Arsene is a very worthy inductee as he transformed Arsenal Football Club fantastically,” Ferguson added. “They became a tough team to compete with and we both wanted to win, which motivated us further. Through the years since retirement, we’d go for dinner together in a little restaurant he knows well in Switzerland. He is a really interesting man and I enjoy his company, but it is still my job to pick the wine!”
List in full
Tony Adams
Sol Campbell
Michael Carrick
Petr Cech
Andy Cole
Ashley Cole
Jermain Defoe
Les Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand
Robbie Fowler
Gary Neville
Michael Owen
John Terry
Yaya Toure
Nemanja Vidic
Premier League announces 15-man shortlist for Hall of Fame 2023 with 6 Man Utd icons included
