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Michael Owen is an icon of English football, considered one of the greatest strikers of his generation. A prolific goal scorer, Owen was highly regarded for his pace, his technical ability and his powerful and accurate finishing.
During his 16 year career, Michael made 473 club appearances and scored 222 goals, and was capped 89 times for England, scoring 40 times at International level.
Michael is best remembered for his time at Liverpool FC where he helped win the treble, as the team won the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup in the 2000–01. He was awarded the Ballon d’Or that season for recognition of his part in the treble.
In 1998 at the age of x, Michael made his senior England debut, making him the youngest-ever England player at the time. His performance at the 1998 FIFA World Cup with an impressive solo goal against Argentina, brought him national and international acclaim as well as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.
He went on to score at three more major tournaments, the UEFA Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup and the Euro 2004, making him the only player to have ever scored in four consecutive tournaments for England.
Following eight years at Liverpool, Michael had stints at Real Madrid, Newcastle, Manchester United and Stoke City. He retired from football in 2013.
His popularity remains today with 3.7 million followers on X (formerly Twitter).
Since retiring from football, Michael has established himself as a highly regarded football pundit and commentator for various TV networks, including BT Sport and is known for his insightful analysis and in-depth knowledge of the game.
He has also published a number of books, bred horses and been involved in various charitable causes.
Michael was born in 1979, in Chester. He was scouted by Liverpool Football Club when he was just 10 years old and joined their youth academy. He progressed through the ranks and scored on his senior debut for Liverpool in 1997 against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park. He became the club’s youngest goalscorer at 17 years, 143 days.
While working up the ranks of Liverpool, Michael continued with his studies and achieved 10 GCSEs. Despite his academic success, he was determined to make football a success and his career.
In his first full season in the Premier League, Michael finished as joint top scorer with 18 goals, sharing the Premier League Golden Boot. He went on to become a prolific goal scorer and is one of just 10 players to have scored 150 or more goals in the Premier League.
CLUB
Liverpool FC
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[209]
Football League Cup: 2009–10
FA Community Shield: 2010
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
FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award: France 1998
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1998
Premier League 10 Seasons Awards: Domestic Team of the Decade
FIFA 100
English Football Hall of Fame: 2014
Golden Foot: 2017, as football legend
In addition to appearing as football pundit and commentator for Premier League and International football, Michael Owen has appeared on a number of other TV programmes and in adverts for big-name brands..
He starred as himself in the children’s television drama show Hero to Zero. In the programme, he would emerge from a full-size poster of himself in Charlie Brice’s room to offer advice in times of crisis.
In 2018, Michael participated in And They’re Off! in aid of Sport Relief, winning the episode.
In January 2022, Michael appeared on the third series of The Masked Singer as “Doughnuts”. He was the seventh to be unmasked.
In 2001, he was the advertising face of the breakfast cereal “Nestlé Sporties”. He also appeared in several adverts for the washing powder Persil. He has been an ambassador of the Swiss watchmaker Tissot since 1998 and has a contract with car manufacturer Jaguar.
Michael Owen has a keen interest in horse racing and owns a stud farm in Cheshire, England. He has also written several books on horse racing and has been a pundit for horse racing events.He owns many racehorses, trained by Tom Dascombe.[184] He bred the horse Brown Panther which won a major race at Royal Ascot in 2011,[185] and the 2015 Dubai Gold Cup
In 2017, Owen rode on Calder Prince at Ascot and finished second.. He was one of 10 amateur riders to take part in the seven-furlong ‘Prince’s Countryside Fund Charity’ contest.
Michael Owen has authored a number of books, starting with his first published book Michael Owen Soccer Skills from 1999. His first autobiography Michael Owen Off the Record was published in 2004 and then updated in 2006. In 2019, Michael published Reboot, his second autobiography which was said to set the record straight and lift the lid on what really happened during his career.