Manchester United and Arsenal stars have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining the likes of Eric Cantona, Steven Gerrard, Alan Shearer, Roy Keane, and Dennis Bergkamp.
Wayne Rooney and Patrick Vieira are the latest Premier League Hall of Fame inductees. The pair join Eric Cantona, Steven Gerrard, Alan Shearer, Roy Keane, and Dennis Bergkamp on the list of the Premier League’s greatest players.
Rooney and Viera were admitted into the hall of fame following a public vote in which fans recognized their pivotal role in history.
Rooney is the second-best scorer in the League’s history, having won the title five times, as well as the player of the year award in 2009/10 and the goal of the season award in both 2004/05 and 2010/11.
The accolade is the greatest individual honor in the domestic League, and the former Everton and Manchester United star confessed it has been a dream of his since he was a child watching his heroes.
“Being inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame among an extraordinary group of players is a tremendous honor and very special for me,” he said.
“As a child, I can recall watching the Premier League. My dream has always been to play professional football, and I have so many fantastic memories from my time at Everton and Manchester United, and I’m extremely proud of what we accomplished.”
Vieira was a member of Arsenal’s Invincibles club that won the title in 2003/04 and won the trophy three times in total, along with the Player of the Season award in 2000/01 – and he said that it was about time he joined teammates Bergkamp and Thierry Henry in the Hall of Fame!
“It’s not a horrible group to be a part of. I was fortunate to play alongside several of them, including Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp. To share the stage with them confirms that I had a successful career,” he explained.
“This is an incredible accomplishment. When I heard the news, I imagined myself as a small boy playing in Senegal or a Paris ghetto. To be among the best players in the Premier League, the best league in the world, is far greater than anything I could have imagined. To have my name associated with those guys fills me with pride and serves as a reminder of how good I was.”