Every former Leeds United player inducted in the Premier League Hall of Fame

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Leeds United have two former players in the Premier League’s Hall of Fame. Here’s who they are.

The Premier League Hall of Fame opened its (theoretical, as it’s all online) doors in 2021 with its first batch of inductees.

The Hall of Fame serves to honour and recognise the achievements and success of those players and managers who have had an enduring impact on England’s top division.

Although there is no physical Hall of Fame for people to visit, inductees are awarded an engraved medallion at a formal induction ceremony.

There are currently 24 giants of the game in the Hall of Fame, with 22 players and two managers, in the shape of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.

Here are the players inducted who used to play for Leeds United.

• Leeds United Premier League 2025-26 stats – Top goal scorers, assists and results

Leeds United have two former players in the Hall of Fame

The criteria for being named in the Hall of Fame are high.

A player must either have made 250 appearances in the league or achieved one of the following to be considered for nomination:

• Made more than 200 Premier League appearances for one club
• Won the Golden Boot or Golden Glove
• Won Player of the Season
• Won three Premier League titles
• Scored 100 Premier League goals, or kept 100 Premier League clean sheets, if a goalkeeper
• Selected in any of the Teams of the Decade

With Leeds being exiled from the top flight for so many years and having never won the trophy, it’s understandably difficult for them to have much representation in the Hall of Fame.

But not impossible…

Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona’s brief stint at Elland Road on his way to becoming the Premier League’s first true superstar is a story well told.

Cantona made just 35 appearances for Leeds, scoring 14 goals, before Bill Fotherby’s famous phone call to enquire about Denis Irwin’s availability somehow ended with Cantona moving to Old Trafford.

Swapping the white rose for the red understandably does not go down well with supporters and the French maverick is not the legendary figure in Yorkshire that he is in Manchester.

Cantona was among the eight inaugural inductees in the Hall of Fame in 2021.

Rio Ferdinand

Speaking of players who fans felt betrayed by, Rio Ferdinand is another who made the cardinal sin of leaving Leeds for Manchester United.

The Whites paid a British transfer record of £18m to sign Ferdinand from West Ham United in 2000 and he became captain after a year following Lucas Radebe’s departure.

Yet, he forced through a £33m transfer to Man U and became the most expensive defender in the world at the time in 2002. Ferdinand went on to have a glittering career, winning all there is to win in Manchester.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023.

Who is in the Premier League Hall of Fame?

Here is the full list of inductees in the Premier League Hall of Fame.

Premier League 2025 inductee candidates

Only two Premier League legends will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2025.

Football fans were asked to vote for two candidates out of a shortlist of 15, with the results of the poll being presented to the 24 members of the HoF to cast their votes and determine who will join them.

Leeds have one representative on the short list in the form of prolific goal-getter Robbie Fowler. The full list of candidates is:

• Sol Campbell
• Michael Carrick
• Jermain Defoe
• Patrice Evra
• Cesc Fabregas
• Les Ferdinand
• Robbie Fowler
• Eden Hazard
• Gary Neville
• Michael Owen
• Teddy Sheringham
• David Silva
• Yaya Toure
• Edwin van der Sar
• Nemanja Vidic