Alan Shearer: The story of Newcastle's all-time top scorer | OneFootball

Alan Shearer emerged at Southampton as one of English football's most exciting young strikers before making a record-breaking transfer to Blackburn, where he won the Premier League, but he is best known for his stunning goalscoring record for Newcastle United.

For 10 years, Shearer lit up Tyneside with his goals, team-play and leadership. It was an era that included title challenges, adventures in Europe and some of the most thrilling football the Premier League has ever seen. Below is a brief history of how Shearer became arguably the club's greatest ever player.

He's coming home - Shearer joins Newcastle for record-breaking fee

Shearer joined his hometown club for another record-breaking fee of £15m in 1996 despite interest from Manchester United and Real Madrid. The England star had just finished Euro '96 as the tournament's top scorer and he joined the club he had supported as a boy at the peak of his powers.

For Newcastle fans, finally seeing Shearer play in the famous black and white jersey was worth the wait. The number nine scored 25 goals in 31 Premier League games, winning the Golden Boot, and the Magpies finished the season in second to Manchester United. Kevin Keegan's side played scintillating football and, at one stage, looked set to deny Alex Ferguson's star-studded side.

Shearer and Robson - a match made in Magpies heaven

Shearer had long been his team's talisman by the time he became its official leader, succeeding Rob Lee as Newcastle captain in the 1998/99 season. It was in the following campaign, however, that Bobby Robson, the manager for whom Shearer gave some of his greatest performances, arrived at St James' Park to usher in a golden era.

They got off to a brilliant start with Shearer scoring five goals in an 8-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday that was Robson's first match in the charge. At the end of that season, Shearer demonstrated his commitment to Newcastle by retiring from international football to focus on his club careers.

In 2001/02, his 23 goals were a major factor in helping Newcastle qualify for the Champions League. The atmosphere was electric inside St James' Park for big European nights and Shearer did not disappoint his fans, scoring seven goals in the Champions League, including a hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen and a brace against Inter Milan. He was also on target as Newcastle beat Italian giants Juventus.

Shearer went on to give fans memorable European nights in the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League) where his goals helped the team reach the semi-finals.

The greatest - Shearer breaks Milburn's record

Even when Newcastle weren't hitting the heights they achieved under Robson, their captain was rarely off the scoresheet. A clinical finisher and brilliant team-player, he was often at the heart of everything good that Newcastle were doing on the pitch.

His final season, 2005/06, saw him break Jackie Milburn's record to become Newcastle all-time top goalscorer. Milburn, who scored 200 goals for Newcastle, had been their top scorer for 49 years by the time Shearer struck his 201st in a match against Portsmouth at St James' Park in February 2006.

The stadium rose to applaud a player who had given everything for the club for 10 years and the like of whom they would be lucky to see again.

Shearer would go on to finish his career as the Premier League's all-time record goalscorer with 260 goals, a record that still stands to this day.