Trivia

His five goals from five games for England at UEFA Euro '96 made him the tournament's top goalscorer.

He was an expert penalty taker.

He made his England debut in 1992, became national captain in 1996, and retired from international playing in 2000.

He scored 30 goals in 63 internationals.

At Euro '96 he scored against Switzerland in England's 1-1 draw, he scored a strong header in the 2-0 victory against Scotland, he scored two goals against Holland (of which one was a penalty) and a header against Germany in the semi-final that ended 1-1.

He scored two goals from four games at the 1998 World Cup - a header against Tunisia and a penalty against Argentina.

At Euro 2000, he scored the header against Germany that won the match for England 1-0 and he scored a penalty against Romania.

He wore the number 9 shirt for England, in the tradition of greats Bobby Charlton and Gary Lineker.

He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honors List for his services to sports. He has two daughters, Chloe and Hollie, and one son. He has captained the England football team. He was the world's most expensive footballer at the time of his £15m move from Blackburn to Newcastle in the summer of 1996. He scored a hat-trick on his debut for Southampton against Arsenal at age 17 in 1988, went on to become the first man to score 30 Premier League goals in three consecutive seasons. He joined Blackburn from Southampton for a then British record £3.6m fee in 1992. He was captain of school football team at age 12. He met his wife on a blind date in a Southampton public house.

Clubs that overlooked the potential of the teenage Alan Shearer included West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland and Manchester City, all of which had the chance to sign him. Manchester United, on the other hand, would twice attempt to secure his services - before his eventual transfers to Blackburn in 1992, and Newcastle in 1996.

Before signing for Southampton, he was offered a trial by Newcastle United - but they didn't identify his talent as a forward and played him in goal.

In April 2005, he was appointed player/coach at Newcastle United for the 2005-2006 season.

He was regularly voted Britain's hunkiest footballer much to his embarrassment.

He is a triple-time premier league golden boot winner (highest goal scorer).

Northumberland, England (May 2009)

He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to charitable services to the community in North East England. He lives in Ponteland, Tyne and Wear, England.