Former Manchester United forward Andrew Cole has been inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame, the league revealed on Monday.
Cole, a five-time Premier League winner with the Red Devils, is the fourth highest scorer in the league’s history with 187 goals in 414 appearances, while also recording 73 assists as a centre forward.
🌟 Andrew Cole is a @PremierLeague Hall of Famer 🌟#MUFC || #PLHallOfFame pic.twitter.com/OGjepbZqGZ
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 22, 2024
The 52-year-old played in the English top division for 15 years, where he donned the colors of seven different clubs, including United, their city rivals Manchester City, and Newcastle United.
One of the purest goalscorers in Premier League history, Cole only scored one penalty during his time in the league. In the 1993/94 season, he bagged 34 goals for Newcastle United, as he claimed the first and only Golden Boot of his Premier League career.
He joined United on a British transfer record in January 1995 and helped the team win five league titles, including three consecutive titles from 1998/99 to 2000/01. He was also integral to helping Sir Alex Ferguson’s men deliver the first-ever triple-winning campaign in English history in 1999.
“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,” said Cole.
“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.”
🏅 Ashley Cole
🏅 Andrew Cole
🏅 John TerryYour 2024 #PLHallOfFame inductees! pic.twitter.com/ZV2hm55hLI
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 22, 2024
Cole is joined by former Chelsea and England defender John Terry in the Hall of Fame after they were both selected from an initial shortlist of 15 former players following votes from fans and the Premier League’s awards panel.
They both become the 23rd and 24th inductees to the Premier League Hall of Fame, and alongside Ashley Cole, who was inducted earlier in the year, the trio will be honoured in a celebratory ceremony in London on Tuesday.
