Shearer is Newcastle’s all-time leading scorer with 206 goals in 405 appearances.
General view of the Alan Shearer statue
Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer’s 9ft 6in tall bronze statue was finally unveiled outside St. James Park on Monday afternoon.
The former Magpies captain joins Jackie Milburn and Sir Bobby Robson to become the first person to have a non-posthumous statue in their honour outside St. James’ Park.
Shearer joined Newcastle from Blackburn Rovers for a world record transfer fee of £15m in 1996 and went on to score 206 goals during a 10 year spell at his boyhood club.
Alan Shearer at Newcastle United
And Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez was quick to pay tribute to the club’s former number 9 as he told nufc.co.uk: “Alan was an incredible player, the perfect number nine, and he had a fantastic career representing this great club.
“The statue of him at St James’ Park is a perfect tribute to a true club legend and I send Alan my very best wishes for a memorable day.”
The Spaniard then followed up with a rather optimistic jest.
“Hopefully we’ll see one of our players scoring as many goals as him – that will be really positive for us,” he laughed.
The current highest goalscorer at the club is Spanish youngster Ayoze Perez with 13 so it’s fair to say Shearer’s record won’t be under threat any time soon – if ever.
Newcastle United’s Ayoze Perez (L) celebrates with team mates after scoring their first goal
And the statue unveiling saw many famous Newcastle faces in attendance including Kevin Keegan, former chairman Freddy Shepherd and of course Shearer himself.
“I fulfilled my dream playing for Newcastle united,” he told BBC Look North. “I shared that dream along with a lot of coaches, a lot of managers, a lot of players and a lot of staff here at Newcastle so I’d like to dedicate that to them as much as myself.
“Without all those guys I wouldn’t be standing here today in-front of a statue of me with hair!”
Former Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd, Alan Shearer and Lord Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne Hazel Stephenson unveil the statue
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
