Alan Shearer knows his record as the Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorer is under threat, jokingly suggesting a transfer abroad for Erling Haaland might be the only way to preserve it.
The former Newcastle United and England forward netted 260 goals during his 14-year career in the top flight.
Haaland, who has scored 120 goals in just over four seasons with Manchester City, is viewed as the most likely candidate to surpass that milestone should he remain in England.
Reflecting on the record, the 56-year-old admitted that if Haaland does not eventually surpass him, someone else inevitably will.
Before the Norwegian striker’s ascent, Harry Kane looked set to challenge the tally, but his pursuit ended at 213 goals when he moved to Bayern Munich in 2023. But his sum of 213 goals halted after he swapped Tottenham Hotspur for Bayern Munich in 2023.
Shearer told The Football Interview that he intends to enjoy his status while it lasts, noting that sending Haaland to a club like Real Madrid would certainly help his case. If we can get Haaland out to Real Madrid or somewhere like that in the next couple of years then it should be alright.
Reflecting on his upbringing, Shearer recalled moving away from his home in Newcastle at just 15 to join Southampton. Living in digs with a host family taught him independence, an experience he describes as one of the best decisions of his life. However, now that he is a father, he marvels at how his own parents allowed him to leave so young, admitting he would find it impossible to let his own children walk away from home at that age. I wouldn’t change anything – one of the best things I did was move away from home at 15,” Shearer said. Looking at my mum and dad and the tears rolling down my mum’s face when I was pulling out of the station and waving thinking, ‘is this the last time I’m ever going to live back home, i remember getting on the train at Newcastle Central station. To the ground – and I wanted a piece of that, i was one of those little kids that went to the training ground. I’ve got a cap on and I very rarely look up because it would take me forever to get from the pub to the ground. They’ve [friends] done that all their life and I’m able to do that now and I love it. And then things changed… and I thought, ‘what am I doing here. I always felt that I was going to go into it again and I wanted to.
His path back to his boyhood club was paved by success at Blackburn Rovers, where he won the Premier League title under Sir Kenny Dalglish before returning to St James’ Park in 1996. While his debut season at Newcastle saw him net 25 league goals, he faced disappointment in two FA Cup finals and ultimately never secured major silverware with the team he grew up idolizing. Working with Sir Kenny Dalglish at Blackburn Rovers where Shearer won the Premier League title before returning to his beloved Newcastle in 1996 – a return to his boyhood club a matter of when not if, a move closer to home followed in 1992. Shearer’s best season at Newcastle was his first (1996-97) when he scored 25 Premier League goals. Watching his hero Kevin Keegan then the “surreal” feeling of signing for him years later, he recalls standing in the Gallowgate End of St James’ Park as a youngster. Fighting for our lives,” he said, newcastle were were in desperate trouble and I could never say no – we were bottom of the league.
Shearer maintains a deep connection with the club and its supporters. He often walks to St James’ Park as a fan, typically using a disguise and keeping his head down to avoid delays during his walk from his friend’s pub. These moments of normalcy are something he deeply cherishes after a decade representing the club as a player, during which he scored 206 goals in 405 appearances.
The transition from the pitch to the media has been a significant chapter in his life, though it was not his initial plan. Following his retirement, he explored the prospect of management and famously accepted an interim role at Newcastle in 2009 for the final eight games of the season. The stint proved difficult as the team fought against relegation, and he jokes that he should have known better than to sign a contract on April Fool’s Day. Unsure of whether he would enter the world of management or media post-retirement, Shearer served as interim Newcastle manager in 2009 for the remaining eight games of the season. It’s a probably 19-20 hour day,” he said, for me travelling from Newcastle.
Although he once held ambitions to continue his coaching career, including interviewing for the managerial position at Cardiff, he ultimately realized that management was not his path. Since stepping away from the dugout, he has established himself as a prominent pundit on Match of the Day and a regular contributor to football podcasts alongside Gary Lineker and Micah Richards. Twenty years after retiring from football, Shearer sat down with Kelly Somers to discuss his love of Newcastle, almost continuing his managerial career and swapping the pitch for the commentary box. It is still rare for Shearer to find himself with a weekend off, despite calling time on his playing career two decades ago.
Balancing his media commitments requires dedication, often involving long days of travel between Newcastle and Salford. He explained that appearing live on air at 10:30 PM requires a level of energy that can be challenging to maintain after spending an entire day immersed in match coverage. Nevertheless, he remains an avid observer of the game, consistently monitoring the very scoring record he once set. Whereas if you’re watching football all day on the settee, you’re ready to nod off at that time, what people don’t realise is that you’re meant to be at your brightest and your liveliest when you go on live at 10:30.
