Michael Owen

Ballon d'Or winner and Premier League legend known for his rapid pace and composed finishing.

Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United, and Stoke City, as well as the England national team. Since retiring from football in 2013, he has become a racehorse breeder and owner and regularly features as a sports pundit and commentator. Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, in 2001, Owen was the recipient of the Ballon d'Or. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.

Quick Facts

Full name: Michael James Owen
Born: 14 December 1979
Birthplace: Chester, England
Height: 1.73 m / 5 ft 8 in
Position: Striker
Total caps: 362
Total goals: 163

Lore & Background

Owen was born in Chester, Cheshire, on 14 December 1979, the fourth child of Jeanette and Terry Owen. His father is a former professional footballer. Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996, scoring on his Premier League debut in May 1997. He finished as joint top scorer in his first full season, sharing the Premier League Golden Boot, and repeated this the following year. In 2001, Liverpool won a cup treble of the UEFA Cup, FA Cup (with Owen scoring two late goals in the final) and Football League Cup. He scored 118 goals in 216 Premier League appearances for Liverpool and 158 goals in 297 total appearances. After Liverpool fell behind their title rivals, Owen moved to Real Madrid for £8 million in summer 2004. He scored 13 goals in La Liga before returning to England to join Newcastle United for £16.8 million. After Newcastle were relegated in 2008–09, Owen moved to Manchester United as a free agent. He spent three years there before joining Stoke City in September 2012. He announced his retirement from playing at the end of the 2012–13 season.

Reader's Guide

Internationally, Owen first played for the senior England team in 1998, becoming England's youngest player and youngest goal scorer at the time. He scored at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004. He was the first player to have scored in four consecutive major tournaments for England. He played at the 2006 World Cup but suffered an injury that took a year to recover from. He made 89 appearances for England, scoring 40 goals, of which 26 were in competitive matches, a record for England at the time of his retirement.

Did You Know?

Owen is one of ten players to have scored 150 or more goals in the Premier League.
He is the youngest player to have reached 100 goals in the Premier League.
At age 12, Owen signed a schoolboy contract with Liverpool after being impressed by youth development officer Steve Heighway.
Owen scored 97 goals in a single season for Deeside Area Primary School's Under-11 team, breaking Ian Rush's record.