Premier League Hall Of Fame Welcomes 9th & 10th Members In Wayne Rooney & Patrick Vieira

The Premier League Hall of Fame welcomed its ninth and 10th members as Wayne Rooney and Patrick Vieira were inducted on Wednesday.
Premier League Hall Of Fame Welcomes 9th & 10th Members In Wayne Rooney & Patrick Vieira
Premier League Hall Of Fame Welcomes 9th & 10th Members In Wayne Rooney & Patrick Vieira /

The Premier League Hall of Fame welcomed its ninth and 10th inductees on Wednesday.

Wayne Rooney and Patrick Vieira were added to a list that already included Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Dennis Bergkamp, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham.

Manchester United legend Rooney and Arsenal's former title-winning captain Vieira were voted in by fans from a shortlist of nominees.

Rooney is second on the EPL's all-time list of leading scorers with 208 goals - 52 fewer than Shearer.

Ex-England captain Rooney is also one of only four players to record more than 100 Premier League assists. He has 103, while the other members of the 100+ club are Ryan Giggs (162), Cesc Fabregas (111) and Lampard (102).

Rooney is a five-time Premier League winner, having helped United to title glory in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013.

But he burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old at Everton where he scored his first Premier League goal in a 2-1 win over Arsenal in 2002.

Arsenal were the reigning champions back then and they were skippered by Vieira, who had arrived as a relative unknown six years earlier in 1996.

Wayne Rooney (left) and Patrick Vieira pictured during the 2005 FA Cup final
Wayne Rooney (left) and Patrick Vieira have been inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame :: IMAGO/Paul Marriott

But by the time Vieira left the Gunners in 2005 every English football fan knew his name.

Vieira is regarded as one of the finest midfield enforcers ever to play in England, where he made 307 Premier League appearances, providing 31 goals and 34 assists.

He led Arsenal to the title in 1998, 2002 and 2004, when his side did not lose a single league game all season.

After leaving Arsenal in 2005, Vieira played in Italy with Juventus and Inter Milan before returning to England to end his career at Manchester City.

Premier League Hall of Fame

Name

Teams

PL debut in

Final PL game in

PL games

PL goals

Alan Shearer

Blackburn and Newcastle

1992

2006

441

260

Thierry Henry

Arsenal

1999

2012

258

175

Eric Cantona

Leeds and Man United

1992

1997

156

70

Roy Keane

Nottingham Forest and Man United

1992

2005

366

39

Frank Lampard

West Ham, Chelsea and Man City

1995

2015

609

177

Dennis Bergkamp

Arsenal

1995

2006

315

87

Steven Gerrard

Liverpool

1998

2015

504

120

David Beckham

Man United

1995

2003

265

62

Wayne Rooney

Everton and Man United

2002

2018

491

208

Patrick Vieira

Arsenal and Man City

1996

2011

307

31


Published
Robert Summerscales
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales launched FanNation Futbol in February 2022. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.