Drogba inducted to the Premier League Hall of Fame

The Premier League introduced eight more players into their Hall of Fame, with footballers from Manchester United, City and Arsenal all found their way into the hall of ‘immortals’, and among them Africa’s ‘juwel’ – Didier Drogba. It is also worth noting that 0 Liverpool footballers went through the selection this time. In March this year Gunners captain Patrick Vieira and Wayne Rooney were introducted as ninth and tenth player, and then it was decided that the fans should vote online for the six further inductees. A shortlist of 25 additional nominees were announced, and the fans voted Didier Drogba, along with Ian Wright, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero.

Drogba earned his place in the Hall of Fame while playing for Chelsea twice (2004-2012 and 2014-2015), where he appeared in 254 games in all competition, scored 104 goals and assisted 54 times. He won 4 Premier League titles with the Blues, 4 FA Cups and one Champions League.

“It is a real honor for me to have been inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame. My years with Chelsea were so special to me, and I'm incredibly proud of everything we won as a team. I'm in the Hall of Fame with some of those great players I played alongside and against, which makes me very proud” said the Ivorian after the official announcement.

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The players who were not voted (this time) are Tony Adams, Matthew Le Tissier, Teddy Sheringham, Les Ferdinand, Sol Campbell, Andrew Cole, Robbie Fowler, Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Edwin van der Sar, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Petr Cech, Robin van Persie, Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidic, and Yaya Toure.

The Premier League decided to have his own Hall of Fame in 2020, but the introductions were delayed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea was recognize and honor players that have achieved great success and made a significant contribution to the league since its founding in 1992. Logically, two players who were introduced first were Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry, and they were followed by Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Dennis Bergkamp, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham the following year.