Position: Striker
Newcastle United Playing Career: 1996-2006
Height: 6ft 0ins
Born: August 13th, 1970
Few will ever forget the summer's day in July 1996 when the Magpies beat Manchester United to Shearer's signature - but what followed over the next decade from the Premier League's all-time record goalscorer really was the stuff of legend.
Spotted as a promising youngster at Cramlington Juniors by scout Jack Hixon, the Gosforth-born goal-machine began his career 300 miles away on England's south coast with Southampton.
In his very first senior game in 1988, Shearer made his intentions clear with a hat-trick against Arsenal, becoming the youngest player ever to net a top-flight treble at just 17-years-old.
Recognition at international level quickly followed, and it wasn't long before the lad who used to stand on the terraces at St. James' Park was banging in the goals for England's Under-21 side, scoring an impressive 13 goals in just 11 appearances.
His performances for the Saints didn't go unnoticed, and it wasn't long before Shearer's eye for goal, aerial threat and his ability to shoot from almost anywhere grabbed the attention of a host of top clubs.
Ironically, it was Newcastle who played their hand first, with manager Kevin Keegan bidding £3 million to bring the self-confessed Toon fan back to his hometown in 1992.
But Kenny Dalglish and Blackburn Rovers had other ideas, and a bid of £3.6 million was enough to convince Shearer to move to the North-West and join Jack Walker's Ewood Park revolution.
Alongside a wealth of similar big-money signings, Shearer flourished in front of goal, scoring 56 goals in his first two seasons. In 1994/95, Blackburn lifted the Premier League title, with the Geordie chipping in with an incredible 37.
By now an England number nine, Shearer's efforts in that title-winning campaign earned him the PFA Player of the Year award and a further 37 goals the following season made him one of world football's hottest properties.
In the summer of 1996, following a haul of five goals in five games in the European Championships, top clubs from across the continent jostled for position, but it was the top two in England that tabled world-record bids.
With £15 million offers from Newcastle and Manchester United, the lure of the number nine shirt at his hometown club proved too good to turn down, and Keegan finally got his man ahead of the 1996/97 season.
As they had done for the bulk of his career, the goals continued to flow for Shearer, and in the first of his ten seasons at St. James' Park, he scored 28 goals, forming a lethal partnership with fellow forward Les Ferdinand.
Over the next two campaigns, despite some serious managerial upheaval and a devastating pre-season injury, their was no let-up as United reached two FA Cup finals in a row at the end of the 1990s.
Under Sir Bobby Robson, the hits just kept on coming, with Shearer taking his goals tally through the 100 barrier during a 2001/02 campaign that saw United qualify for the Champions League.
Over the next five years, the Toon skipper continued to hit double figures every season as he edged closer to the magic 200 mark - the target set by the Club's all-time leading scorer, Jackie Milburn.
That total was matched in an FA Cup tie against Mansfield Town in January 2006, and just 28 days later, Shearer became United's record goalscorer with his 201st strike against Portsmouth at the Gallowgate End.
The previous summer, Shearer had announced his intention to retire at the end of the season, and not content with his record-breaking haul, he signed off in typical fashion with a goal against Sunderland in his last ever game.
Following an emotional testimonial against Celtic at St. James' Park, Newcastle's talismanic striker bid farewell to the fans that had worshiped him for a decade and left an imprint on the Club that will never be forgotten.
DEBUT: Everton (a) 17/8/96
APPEARANCES:
Premier League: 303: 48 goals
FA Cup: 36; 21 goals
League Cup: 16; 7 goals
Europe: 48; 30 goals
TOTAL: 404; 206 goals
HONOURS:
England caps: 63; 30 goals
England U-21 caps: 11; 13 goals
England B caps: 1; 0 goals
Premier League winner: 1995
