Michael Owen

Early life

Owen was born in Chester, Cheshire, on 14 December 1979 as the fourth child of Jeanette and Terry Owen. His father is a former professional footballer and played for clubs such as Chester City and Everton. Owen was introduced to football at the age of seven by his father, who soon saw Michael as the most promising athlete in the family. A boyhood Everton fan, Owen attended Rector Drew Primary School in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales and by the age of ten, some of the nation's leading scouts were monitoring his progress.

At eight, Owen was selected for the Deeside Area Primary School's Under-11 team. At nine, he was captain and at ten he had smashed Ian Rush's 20-year record for the same team by scoring 97 goals in a single season, improving on Rush's record by 25 goals. Owen also broke Gary Speed's appearance record having played in all three seasons for the 11-year-olds since he was eight. Owen turned out for the youth team of Mold Alexandra, playing with the under-10s at the age of eight after a local physical education teacher, Howard Roberts, persuaded the league to allow an under-age player. Owen scored on his debut for Mold Alexandra, a 2–0 victory over local rivals Bagillt. He went on to score 34 goals in 24 games in his first season with Mold Alexandra. After leaving Deeside, Owen attended Hawarden High School, where he also played for the school team.

Club career

Liverpool

At age 12, when Owen started attending secondary school, he became eligible to sign a schoolboy contract with a club. The first major club to spot him playing for Deeside was Liverpool. Brian Kidd came down from Manchester United and there was also interest from Chelsea and Arsenal. But Steve Heighway, the Liverpool youth development officer, wrote to Owen personally. Terry Owen stated: "[Heighway] wrote us a smashing letter, and it was love at first sight for Michael, he was impressed from day one." Owen subsequently signed with the Liverpool youth team. The club then persuaded Owen to attend the FA's School of Excellence at Lilleshall in Shropshire at age 14. Owen was soon playing for England teams from under-15 upwards, breaking several scoring records with 28 goals in 20 games for the England u-15s and u-16s. Owen also scored prolifically as he rose rapidly through the Anfield youth ranks. Throughout this time, Owen had continued his studies and achieved ten GCSEs. Despite the academic success, Owen was unshakeable, his future was a professional football career with the Liverpool youth team.

In the 1995–96 season, Owen played for Liverpool's youth team even though he was still at Lilleshall. Most of the players were 18, but Owen was only 16. He scored a hat-trick against FA Youth Cup holders Manchester United in the quarter-finals, scoring the winner in extra time. Owen subsequently scored another hat-trick in a 4–2 win in the first leg of the semi against Crystal Palace. Liverpool was 3–0 down after only 50 minutes in the second leg, but with Owen taking control of the match and scoring twice, the team ran out as 7–5 winners. Liverpool faced West Ham United in the final, played over two legs as well. West Ham had not lost in 24 consecutive games, and had future England stars Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard. Owen missed the first leg at Upton Park as he was on tour duty with the England under-16 team in the European youth championship in Austria. He returned for the second-leg where Liverpool had fallen behind early against West Ham but Owen equalised with his eleventh goal in five cup matches and Liverpool won the match 2–1. It was the first time Liverpool had won the FA Youth Cup in the club's history and Owen was widely considered the star of the FA Youth Cup campaign.

Owen celebrated his 17th birthday by signing a professional contract with Liverpool. He was handed a place in Roy Evans' senior squad, with Steve Heighway stating that, "[Owen] is ready for whatever you throw at him; nothing fazes Michael Owen. He's ready. If the manager wants a recommendation from me, Michael gets it." Owen also declared his aim was "a first-team place in the next year or so". Karl-Heinz Riedle, who prior to joining Liverpool in the summer of 1997 had never heard of Owen, declared, "It's unbelievable when you see him play to realise that he's only 17 ... He's such a good player, so very quick and for his age he has excellent vision and awareness. He's a great player already and in one or two years he will become a very great player." Owen was rated as "the best attacker of his age in the country" in January 1997. Ted Powell, the championship-winning coach of the England under-18 side, declared Owen to be the best of a generation of young players that included Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Robbie Fowler. On 6 May 1997, Owen scored on his Liverpool debut against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park. Liverpool were league title challengers to Manchester United but their failure to beat Wimbledon in the penultimate game of the league season handed the championship to United. The Liverpool Echo wrote, "[Only] Michael Owen could emerge with any credit from a performance that mocked Anfield's rich traditions." Owen, who had come on as a substitute in the second half, "[breathed] new life into the Reds' championship corpse", and "began [Liverpool's] best spell of the night", but was ultimately not able to salvage a win. The Liverpool Echo stated, "It was a debut marked in the grand manner."

Real Madrid

Following their successful bid, on 14 August 2004, Real Madrid officially presented Owen with the number 11 shirt. Owen joined the club during its Galácticos era, and played alongside the "big four" of preceding star signings, namely Luís Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, and David Beckham, as well as prominent team players from the pre-Galácticos era; Raúl, Roberto Carlos, and Iker Casillas. He also became the second Liverpool player to join Real Madrid in five years after Steve McManaman, who played for the club from 1999 to 2003.

Owen was regarded as having a slow start to his Madrid career, often being confined to the bench. Owen sometimes drew criticism from fans and the Spanish press for his lack of form. A successful return to action with the England squad in October 2004 seemed to revive his morale however, and in the first following match, he scored his first goal for the club, the winner in a 1–0 Champions League victory over Dynamo Kyiv. A few days later, he scored his first La Liga goal in a 1–0 victory over Valencia. The scoring spree continued, as he found the back of the net in three of the next four matches to make it five goals in seven matches. On 10 April 2005, Owen scored Real Madrid's fourth goal in a 4–2 El Clásico win over Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Owen ended the 2004–05 season with 13 goals in La Liga, with the season's highest ratio of goals scored to number of minutes played. Following Madrid's signing of two high-profile Brazilian forwards, Robinho and Júlio Baptista, in the summer of 2005, the speculation arose that Owen would return to the Premier League. During his time at Real Madrid, Owen scored 16 goals from 45 games, 26 of which were starts.

Newcastle United

On 24 August 2005, Newcastle United announced that they had agreed to a club record fee of £16.8 million to obtain Owen, although they still had to negotiate with the player's advisers. Liverpool and local rivals Everton entered the fray, but were unwilling to match Madrid's asking price. As the 2006 World Cup was less than a year away, Owen wanted to get more playing time to secure his position as the first-choice striker in the England squad and joined Newcastle amid rumours that he had inserted an escape clause valued at £12 million. On 31 August 2005, Owen signed a four-year contract to play for Newcastle, despite initial press speculation that he would rather have returned to Liverpool. Some 20,000 fans were present at Newcastle's home ground of St James' Park for Owen's official unveiling as a Newcastle player. Several days after signing, he suffered a thigh-injury in pre-season, which ruled him out for the start of the 2005–06 season. He scored his first goal for the club on his second appearance, the second goal in a 3–0 away win at Blackburn Rovers on 18 September, Newcastle's first win of the season. Owen scored his first hat-trick for Newcastle in the 4–2 away win over West Ham United on 17 December. It was also a "perfect hat trick", with one goal scored with each of his left foot, right foot and head.

On 31 December 2005, Owen broke a metatarsal bone in his foot in a match against Tottenham Hotspur. He underwent surgery to place a pin in the bone, to help speed the healing process. He was expected to be out of action until late March, but the healing process did not go as hoped and on 24 March he underwent a second, minor operation. Owen then stated that he should be fit for the final few weeks of the season with Newcastle. His return to action finally came against Birmingham City on 29 April when he came off the substitutes' bench in the 62nd minute. After the match, Owen stated that he was "not 100% happy" with his foot. He underwent a further X-ray and made himself unavailable for Newcastle's final game of the season. A damaged anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee, sustained in the first minute of the group match against Sweden at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, kept Owen out of regular football for nearly a year, until April 2007. The seriousness of Owen's injury at the World Cup inflamed the so-called "club-versus-country" row in England, centring on the liability of the world governing body FIFA and The Football Association (FA) for the cost of injuries to players incurred while on international duty. Newcastle were aggrieved at the length of time Owen would now be out of action in forthcoming Premier League and Cup competitions as a result of the World Cup injury, particularly as he had been out for the half-season prior to the World Cup. Under the existing insurance arrangements between club and country, FIFA and the FA had been paying £50,000 of Owen's £110,000 weekly wages since he suffered the injury, totalling approximately £2 million for the time he was out of action. By September 2006, Newcastle were threatening to sue the FA for further compensation, for a reported figure of £20 million. The Owen case was a high-profile follow-up to an already ongoing legal claim for compensation from FIFA over an injury incurred by Abdelmajid Oulmers on international duty. Newcastle's compensation claim included the £10 million cost of buying Owen's replacement, Obafemi Martins, £6.2 million towards Owen's salary costs while injured, the possibility of long-term damage to Owen's fitness and ability, the loss of league position and cup competition progress, depreciation of Owen's four-year contract, and the cost of medical treatment for Owen. In February 2007, FIFA made Newcastle a "final offer" of £1 million. By April 2007, Newcastle were threatening to take out an injunction to stop the FA from picking Owen for England games. The club finally reached a compromise settlement figure with FIFA and the FA; FIFA indicated that the settlement was between £6 million and £7 million. The club, stating that Owen's wages had "now been paid in full", stated the overall compensation achieved totalled £10 million. Resulting from the Owen compensation claim, the FA doubled their future insurance coverage of England players to £100,000, and FIFA introduced a compensation fund for injuries sustained at World Cups.

Manchester United

On 3 July 2009, it was announced that Owen had signed a two-year deal with Manchester United arch rivals of Liverpool. A surprise move, Owen said that the approach from manager Alex Ferguson was "out of the blue". He signed a pay-as-you-play deal and was handed the number 7 shirt vacated by the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid. The shirt had previously been worn by many of United's other illustrious players over the years, including Johnny Berry, George Best, Steve Coppell, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham.

Owen scored his first goal for United on his debut, scoring an 84th-minute winner after coming on as a substitute in a pre-season friendly against a Malaysian XI; he followed this up by scoring three more goals in United's pre-season games. Owen made his league debut for United when he came on as a substitute against Birmingham City on 16 August in a 1–0 win, and scored his first competitive goal in a Manchester United shirt against Wigan Athletic on 22 August in a 5–0 away win. On 20 September, Owen scored his first goal at Old Trafford, in the sixth minute of stoppage time against local rivals Manchester City to give United a 4–3 derby win. This meant that Owen had now scored in his third derby, after scoring in the Merseyside derby, and the Tyne–Wear derby in previous years. Owen struggled to recall the moments immediately after the goal, and said that it ranked as one of his most important.

On 27 October, Owen scored a goal in the 2–0 away win against Barnsley to qualify United past the fourth round of the League Cup. On 3 November, Owen scored his first Champions League goal for Manchester United, as he grabbed United's first in the 3–3 draw against CSKA Moscow. Owen's seemingly slim chances of earning a place in Fabio Capello's England squad for the 2010 World Cup finals in 2010 received a boost when on 8 December 2009, Owen scored his first hat-trick for Manchester United in a 3–1 away win against VfL Wolfsburg in the Champions League, his first hat-trick since 2005. On 28 February 2010, Owen scored United's first goal in their 2–1 victory over Aston Villa in the 2010 League Cup final, but had to be substituted after pulling up on 42 minutes. Originally thought to be a minor injury, on 5 March it was announced Owen required surgery on his hamstring, ruling him out for the rest of the season.

Owen scored his first goal for United back from injury in a 7–1 pre-season victory against a League of Ireland XI on 4 August 2010 at the newly built Aviva Stadium. On 22 September 2010, Owen scored twice during a 5–2 away win over Scunthorpe United in the third round of the League Cup, his first goals of the season. Four days later, Owen scored his first league goal of the season, United's second equaliser with his first touch in a 2–2 away draw against Bolton Wanderers. Owen's first goal of 2011 came in United's 2–1 FA Cup victory over Southampton at St Mary's Stadium on 29 January. On 25 February, United manager Alex Ferguson said that Owen was a key part of his squad for the rest of the season. However, he suffered a groin injury and missed his team's next four games. His return match was on 19 March when he returned to the bench for United's game against Bolton.

Stoke City

On 4 September 2012, Owen joined Stoke City on a one-year contract. He was handed the number 10 shirt from the departed Ricardo Fuller and made his debut in a 1–1 draw against Manchester City on 15 September. The start to his time at Stoke was hampered by a hamstring injury. Owen scored his first and only goal for Stoke on 19 January 2013 in a 3–1 defeat at Swansea City, his first goal since 25 October 2011. In doing so, he became only the seventh player to reach 150 Premier League goals.

On 19 March 2013, Owen announced that he would retire from playing at the end of the 2012–13 season. He was restricted to just eight Premier League appearances for Stoke, all coming from the substitutes' bench, including in his final appearance on 19 May 2013 against Southampton, where he received a standing ovation from both sets of supporters.

Owen had indicated that he would like to become involved with Chester in some capacity when he retires, as it was his local team growing up and his father played for the old Chester side which went out of business in March 2010 and was reformed at a lower level.

International career

Owen was capped 89 times for England and scored 40 goals. He is sixth in the list of all-time top scorers for the England team, behind Harry Kane (61), Wayne Rooney (53), Bobby Charlton (49), Gary Lineker (48) and Jimmy Greaves (44). His 89 caps also place him as England's eleventh most capped player.

Owen played for England at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups and the 2000 and 2004 UEFA European Championships. He scored goals in all but one of these tournaments, making him the first player ever to have scored in four major tournaments for England.

Emergence

Owen had a highly successful record at Youth level, playing for the England under-20 team at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship and scoring three goals in four games. He played once for the England under-21 team, scoring in a win over Greece at Carrow Road.

He made his debut for the England senior team in a 2–0 friendly loss to Chile on 11 February 1998. This made Owen the youngest player to represent England in the 20th century at 18 years and 59 days of age.

Owen's youthful enthusiasm, pace, and talent made him a popular player across the country, and many fans were keen for him to be selected for the 1998 World Cup in France. In a pre-World Cup friendly against Morocco, Owen scored his first goal for England. The goal also made him the youngest ever player to have scored for England, until his record was surpassed by Wayne Rooney in 2003.

1998 World Cup

Owen was selected for the World Cup squad by manager Glenn Hoddle, becoming England's youngest ever player at a World Cup when he came on as a substitute in the opening match against Tunisia. In the following match, a 2–1 defeat to Romania, Owen again appeared as a substitute. His equalising goal made him England's youngest ever goalscorer in the tournament at the age of 18 years and 190 days. In stoppage time, he hit the post with a long range shot, almost salvaging a point from the game. Because of his impact against Romania, Hoddle selected Owen in the starting line-up for England's decisive group match against Colombia. England won the match, and Owen retained his place for the second round match against Argentina. After Argentina had taken a sixth-minute lead, Owen was fouled in the penalty area by Roberto Ayala and Alan Shearer equalised with the penalty kick. In the 16th minute, Owen gave England a 2–1 lead with a sensational individual goal. After beating defenders Ayala and José Chamot, he struck the ball past goalkeeper Carlos Roa. In 2013, the goal was voted as the third-greatest in England's history. England eventually drew the match and went out of the tournament on penalties, with Owen successfully converting his kick. At the end of the year, he won a public vote to be elected winner of the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year title.

Euro 2000

Owen started the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying phase as a regular in the England starting line-up. However, injury problems meant he missed much of the campaign as England struggled, with Hoddle being replaced by Kevin Keegan. On 4 September 1999, he scored his first goal at Wembley Stadium in a 6–0 win over Luxembourg. At the finals, Owen scored once in three matches, as England were knocked out at the group stage, after losing again to Romania.

2002 World Cup

After Alan Shearer's retirement, Owen took over as England's senior striker under new manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. He scored six times during 2002 World Cup qualifying, including a hat-trick against Germany at Munich's Olympiastadion, as England won the qualifying group. His performances saw him named European Footballer of the Year for 2001.

In April 2002, he was named as England's captain for a friendly match against Paraguay in place of the injured regular captain David Beckham. Owen was the youngest England captain since Bobby Moore in 1963, and in the following few seasons, he regularly deputised for Beckham as Eriksson's vice-captain.

At the 2002 World Cup finals, Owen failed to score during the group stage. However, he was fouled for England's match winning penalty kick in the 1–0 win over Argentina. Owen scored in England's second round match against Denmark and then gave England an early lead in the 2–1 quarter-final defeat against Brazil.

Euro 2004

Owen scored five times in qualification for Euro 2004.

At the tournament proper, Owen again failed to score during the group stage. He then scored in the third minute of the quarter-final with Portugal, becoming the first England player to score in four consecutive major tournaments. England went on to lose on penalties after a 2–2 draw.

2006 World Cup

In qualification for the 2006 World Cup, Owen scored five goals.

In May 2005, he scored his second international hat-trick in a friendly match against Colombia at Giants Stadium. In another pre-World Cup friendly, Owen scored two late goals to give England a 3–2 win over rivals Argentina in November 2005.

Owen made his debut for the England B-team in a friendly against Belarus on 25 May 2006, as part of his return to match fitness ahead of the 2006 World Cup. He captained England B in this game, playing for 61 minutes before being substituted.

Owen started England's first two games of the 2006 World Cup, against Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago, but did not manage to score. After playing only 51 seconds of his third appearance of the tournament, and 80th cap, in the final group game against Sweden, Owen badly twisted his right knee and was forced to leave the match on a stretcher. A scan of the injury on 21 June confirmed that Owen had torn the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee, and was sent home, no longer able to play in the tournament. In March 2009, Owen admitted that all injuries he was sustaining were relating back to his injury in the 2006 World Cup tournament, and that he should not have returned prematurely from injury to participate in the competition.

Final appearances

Owen underwent successful reconstruction surgery, carried out by Richard Steadman, on 6 September 2006. The injury sidelined him until April 2007, meaning he missed England's first six matches in qualifying for Euro 2008. He returned for the England B game against Albania, and was named in the full squad for the first England match at the new Wembley Stadium against Brazil and the Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia, with Owen stating "I feel sharp and, if given the chance, I feel confident when in front of goal." He played in both matches and scored against Estonia, breaking Gary Lineker's record for most goals in competitive internationals for England.

On 12 September 2007, Owen scored twice for England in a 3–0 win over Russia, becoming the first player to score international goals at both the old and new Wembley Stadiums. These were to be Owen's final goals for England.

After England failed to qualify for Euro 2008, manager Steve McClaren was replaced by Fabio Capello. Owen made only one appearance under Capello, as a substitute in a friendly against France in March 2008.

Style of play

In his prime, Owen was highly regarded for his great pace, opportunism and agility, as well as his technical ability and his eye for goal, which enabled him to be considered one of the greatest English and Premier League strikers of his generation. A prolific goalscorer, Owen was a powerful and accurate finisher, who was also effective with his head, despite his lack of height. He was also capable of linking up with and creating chances for teammates due to his short passing ability and vision. Despite, or even due to, his precocious talent in his youth, Owen faced many injuries throughout his career, which in later years affected his pace, fitness, mobility and the overall consistency of his performances. His former Liverpool and England teammate Steven Gerrard has labelled Owen as the best teenage footballer he has ever seen, describing him as being even better as a teenager than Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé.

Personal life

Owen met Louise Bonsall at primary school in 1984. The couple bought Lower Soughton Manor near Mold, Flintshire, north Wales, where they keep his cars and her horses. They were engaged on 14 February 2004, and married on 24 June 2005, at the Carden Park Hotel in Chester, Cheshire. The couple had initially planned to get married at their home, but changed plans when they were informed that if a licence was granted for a marriage ceremony the venue must be made available for other weddings for three years, so opted to marry in a register office in informal clothing and have a lavish reception the next day in the grounds of their home.

Their daughter, Gemma Rose, was born on 1 May 2003. On 6 February 2006, they had a son named James Michael. Their third child, a daughter, Emily May, was born on 29 October 2007. Their fourth child Jessica was born on 26 February 2010. Owen revealed in January 2024 that his son James had been diagnosed with Stargardt disease, a degenerative eye condition, when he was eight years old.

After Owen returned to England to play for Newcastle, he travelled to a nearby BAE Systems facility on a daily basis in order to fly, by helicopter, to train with his club. However, there is now a helipad installed within the grounds of the house to accommodate Owen's Eurocopter Dauphin, with which he both travels and is training to become a pilot. Owen was eventually banned from training to be a pilot by Newcastle United due to excessive insurance premiums.

Owen bought multiple houses on one street for his extended family in Ewloe, which is in an area close to where he used to live.

In 2004, Owen's sister Karen was assaulted by two youths, who attempted to kidnap her. When she revealed that she was pregnant, they fled.

Owen owns several cars and a helicopter and enjoys horse racing and gambling. He owns many race horses, trained by Tom Dascombe. He bred the horse Brown Panther which won a major race at Royal Ascot in 2011, and the 2015 Dubai Gold Cup. On 24 November 2017, Owen rode on Calder Prince at Ascot and finished second, beaten by Tom Chatfield-Roberts on Golden Wedding. He was one of 10 amateur riders to take part in the seven-furlong 'Prince's Countryside Fund Charity' contest, which was attended by Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall. Owen was a brand ambassador for British bookmaker Colossus Bets.

Media career

Owen starred in a series of adverts that charted his life and rise to fame. In 2001, he was the advertising face of breakfast cereal "Nestlé Sporties". He also appeared in several adverts for the washing powder Persil, in a contract worth £1 million. Owen was selected as one of the two cover athletes for Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. He has been an ambassador of the Swiss watchmaker Tissot since 1998 and has a contract with car manufacturer Jaguar.

Following his retirement from football, Owen has worked as a pundit on football broadcasts, currently appreaing for TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) and Amazon Prime Video.

Owen also starred as himself in the children's television drama show Hero to Zero. In the programme, Owen would emerge from a full-size poster of himself in Charlie Brice's room to offer advice in times of crisis.

In January 2018, Owen participated in And They're Off! in aid of Sport Relief, winning the episode.

In January 2022, Owen appeared on the third series of The Masked Singer as "Doughnuts". He was the seventh to be unmasked.

In June 2022, his oldest daughter Gemma, 19, took part in series 8 of ITV reality show Love Island where she finished in second place.

Controversies

In June 2021, Owen was exposed for sexting and soliciting nude photographs from former reality television personality and politician Rebecca Jane, as well as arranging to meet with her at a horse-racing event despite his marital status.

In May 2022, cryptocasino Punt announced Owen as their most recent global brand ambassador. Following this, in June 2022 Owen was found to have breached UK laws regarding gambling advertising, as he had used his Twitter account to promote an unlicenced cryptocurrency casino to the British public. He was instructed by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to delete the promotions for the non-fungible token scheme, which breached rules about advertising cryptocurrency gambling products.

Career statistics

International

Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Owen goal.

Honours

Liverpool

FA Cup: 2000–01

Football League Cup: 2000–01, 2002–03

FA Charity Shield: 2001

UEFA Cup: 2000–01

UEFA Super Cup: 2001

Newcastle United

UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2006

Manchester United

Premier League: 2010–11

Football League Cup: 2009–10

FA Community Shield: 2010

UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2010–11

Individual

Ballon d'Or: 2001

World Soccer World Player of the Year: 2001

ESM Team of the Year: 2000–01

Onze d'Argent: 2001

BBC Sports Personality of the Year: 1998

Premier League Golden Boot: 1997–98, 1998–99

Premier League Player of the Season: 1997–98

PFA Young Player of the Year: 1997–98

PFA Team of the Year: 1997–98 Premier League

Premier League Player of the Month: August 1998