Alan Shearer has suggested that an overseas transfer for Erling Haaland could be the best route to preserving his status as the Premier League's all-time top scorer. Speaking to Kelly Somers on The Football Interview, the 56-year-old former Newcastle United and England striker admitted that his landmark tally of 260 goals across 14 seasons will eventually be broken. Harry Kane previously threatened the record with 213 goals before departing Tottenham Hotspur for Bayern Munich in 2023, but with Manchester City's Haaland having already amassed 120 goals in four-and-a-bit campaigns, Shearer quipped that a switch to Real Madrid in the coming years would keep his record safe for a while longer.
Reflecting on a journey that concluded two decades ago, Shearer discussed the early leap that started his career when he left Newcastle Central station at age 15 to live with another family in Southampton—a decision he admitted he could never imagine allowing his own two daughters and son to make. After winning the Premier League title under Sir Kenny Dalglish following a 1992 switch to Blackburn Rovers, he returned to boyhood club Newcastle in 1996 to play under his childhood hero Kevin Keegan. Shearer went on to spend a decade on Tyneside, scoring 206 goals in 405 matches across all competitions, headlined by a 25-goal league campaign in 1996-97 despite suffering defeats in two FA Cup finals.
Following his playing days, Shearer had an unexpected brush with football management when he agreed to take over as interim Newcastle boss for the final eight games of the 2009 campaign. He noted that signing his contract on April Fool's Day foreshadowed a difficult outcome, with the club ultimately suffering relegation. While he anticipated returning to coaching and even underwent interviews that led to a formal job offer from Cardiff, a change of heart prompted him to step away from the dugout for good.
Instead of returning to management, Shearer has become a fixture in football broadcasting, balancing England co-commentary duties and appearances on The Rest Is Football podcast with Gary Lineker and Micah Richards alongside his work on Match of the Day. Travelling between Newcastle and Salford creates 19 to 20-hour workdays that require him to stay sharp for live broadcasts at 10:30 pm. That schedule keeps him thoroughly immersed in English top-flight action, allowing him to keep a close watch on whether Haaland will eventually match his historic tally.