Alan Shearer OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire), DL (Deputy Lieutenant) (born 13 August 1970) is a retired English footballer (Association football). He played as a striker (forward (association football)) in the top level of English league football (Premier League) for Southampton (Southampton F.C.), Blackburn Rovers (Blackburn Rovers F.C.), Newcastle United (Newcastle United F.C.) and for the England national team (England national football team). He is widely considered as one of the greatest English strikers of all time, being both Newcastles and the Premier Leagues record goalscorer (Premier League#Top scorers). After retiring as a player, Shearer now works as a television pundit (pundit (expert)) for the BBC. Toward the end of his playing career, Shearer worked towards gaining the UEFA Pro Licence, and expressed a desire to eventually become a manager (Manager (football)). In 2009 he briefly left his BBC role to become Newcastle Uniteds manager in the last eight games of their 2008-09 season (Newcastle United F.C. season 2008-09), in an unsuccessful attempt to save them from relegation.

A native of Newcastle upon Tyne, Shearer made his professional debut with English top-flight club Southampton (Southampton F.C.) in 1988 (1988-89 in English football), scoring a hat-trick (Hat-trick#Football (Soccer)) in the process. During several years on the south coast, he became known for his classic style of play, strength and goalscoring ability; he soon received an international call-up along with a transfer to Blackburn Rovers (Blackburn Rovers F.C.) in 1992. Shearer established himself as a player in northern England; he became a regular in the England squad, and his 34-goal tally helped Blackburn secure the Premier League title in 1994-95 (1994-95 in English football). He was named Football Writers Association Player of the Year (FWA Footballer of the Year) in 1994 and won the PFA Player of the Year award in 1995. The 1995-96 season saw Shearer make his first Champions League (UEFA Champions League) appearances and finish as the top scorer in the Premier League with 31 goals. He was also top scorer at Euro 1996 with England, scoring five goals, and in the 1996-97 Premier League, with 25 goals.

A world-record �15 million move to his boyhood heroes, Newcastle United, followed the Euro 96 (UEFA Euro 1996) tournament, and Shearer spent the remainder of his career with the club. While he would never emulate the success of his time at Blackburn Rovers, Shearer won runners-up medals in the Premier League and FA Cup with Newcastle, and a second PFA Player of the Year award. After being named Englands captain (captain (sport)) in 1996 and Newcastles captain in 1999, he retired from international football following Euro 2000, having amassed 63 appearances and 30 goals for his country.

As well as his media work, he has raised substantial amounts of money for various national and local charities (Charitable organization), both within and outside of sports. Shearer is an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), a Deputy Lieutenant of Northumberland, a Freeman (Freedom of the City) of Newcastle upon Tyne and an honorary (Honorary degree) Doctor of Civil Law of Northumbria (Northumbria University) and Newcastle Universities (Newcastle University).