Premier League Hall of Fame inductees react

This year’s Premier League Hall of Fame class of 2023 inductees were formally honored at an event in London on Wednesday. Rio Ferdinand, Petr Cech, and Tony Adams joined Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger to be recognized for their incredible success and celebrated for their contributions.

Premier League HOF inductees “very proud”

To be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame is the highest honor one can receive within the league. The inductees this year know that and all spoke of how proud they were to be included in such an honor.

“It’s a huge achievement,” said Ferdinand. “Very proud, my family, my wife are here. It’s a very proud moment for us. But you don’t set out for that at the beginning. You just want to work hard and graft and keep trying to improve and level up all the time.”

Ferdinand won the Premier League title six times during his stint with Manchester United. He’s known as one of the best central defenders of his era and played in 504 games across 20 Premier League seasons, while keeping 189 clean sheets.

“How does it happen that you call yourself a bad goalkeeper and you have so many clean sheets, having played for an average team?” asked Cech.

Cech won four Premier League titles while playing for Chelsea and holds the record for most clean sheets in the league with 202 in 443 games.

“I’m very pleased to join the Premier League Hall of Fame,” said Adams. “It’s an honor to be recognized and voted for by the fans who make the game what it is.”

Adams was known as “Mr. Arsenal” and was a legend at the club. He helped them to win their first ever Premier League title in the 1997-98 season, scoring the winning goal at the last minute against Everton that year.

The inductees of the Premier League Hall of Fame receive a medal with their name and induction year, plus a £10,000 donation to a charity of their choosing, made by the league.