Rio Ferdinand was “delighted” to be named among the 15 nominees for the Premier League Hall of Fame.
Introduced in 2021, the Hall of Fame has included eight players in each of the past two years, including manager greats Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger on Wednesday.
Voting has begun for the latest round of inductees, which has nominated great players from the last 30 years of the Premier League.
The 2023 inductees are dominated by defenders, including former Arsenal captain Tony Adams, ex-Chelsea skipper John Terry and Manchester United stalwarts Ferdinand and Gary Neville.
Also nominated are former Chelsea and Arsenal duo Petr Cech and Ashley Cole, as well as ex-United defender Nemanja Vidic.
Midfielders Michael Carrick and Yaya Toure represent both sides of Manchester, while strikers Andy Cole, Les Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen round out the list.
Ferdinand tweeted: “Glad to be nominated for #PLHallOfFame again. There are several worthy centre-backs on the list of nominees.”
The former England captain will hope he gets lucky a third time as he was also among the nominees in 2021 and 2022.
Introducing your 2023 #PLHallOfFame nominees
Vote for yours: https://t.co/cVUsRGi8Vs pic.twitter.com/DHYhP3Uhnw
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 30, 2023
Fans can vote for the three players they think should be inducted, with voting open until 6pm BST on Monday, April 10th.
This time only three players will take their place among the greats.
The shortlist has been reduced from 25 names to 15, and players are only eligible if their retirement has been confirmed before January 1, 2023.
To be eligible, players must have made at least 250 Premier League appearances or played 200 league appearances for the same club, been selected in any Team of the Decade or 20th Anniversary, won the Golden Boot or Golden Glove, been named Player of the Year season, won three titles, scored 100 goals or registered 100 shutouts.
2023 nominees: Tony Adams, Saul Campbell, Michael Carrick, Petr Cech, Andy Cole, Ashley Cole, Jermain Defoe, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Gary Neville, Michael Owen, John Terry, Yaya Toure, Nemanja Vidic.