Arsenal great Patrick Vieira, former Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney joined the Premier League Hall of Fame Wednesday as the first two inductees of 2022.
Frenchman Vieira played 307 times in the Premier League, winning the competition three times including as captain of the Arsenal "Invincibles" team, who remain the only club to have won the title without losing a game.
Rooney is the Premier League’s all-time second-highest goalscorer with 208 goals for Manchester United and Everton, he also won the league five times at Old Trafford.
"It’s a huge honor for me to be named in the Premier League Hall of Fame, alongside an incredible group of players who have already been inducted," Rooney said.
"Growing up, I watched the Premier League as far back as I can remember. My dream was always to become a professional footballer, score goals and win trophies and I was lucky enough to win the Premier League five times.
"I have so many brilliant memories from my years playing for Everton and Manchester United and I’m really proud of what we achieved.
"To enter the Hall of Fame is very special for me personally and I’m grateful to be recognized."
Two players who combined talent and work-rate to become Premier League legends
It is our pleasure to announce @WayneRooney and @OfficialVieira as the first two 2022 Inductees of the #PLHallOfFame pic.twitter.com/WYv4bfCsgU
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 23, 2022
The duo has become the ninth and 10th players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as they join David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Dennis Bergkamp, Frank Lampard, Roy Keane, Eric Cantona, Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer.
"Being inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame is a fantastic achievement," Vieira said.
"When I received the news, I thought about being a young boy playing in Senegal, or in a suburb of Paris.
"To be there with the best players in the Premier League, the best league in the world, is bigger than what I was ever thinking about. To have my name around those players makes me proud and makes me realize how good I was.
"It’s not bad company to join. I was lucky to play at the same time as some of them, of course including Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp. So to share the stage with them makes me realize I had a really good career."
