Michael Owen

• 1. A Boy From Chester

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  Michael James Owen was born on the 14th of December 1979 in Chester, Cheshire. He entered the world as the fourth child of Jeanette and Terry Owen. His father had played professional football for clubs like Chester City and Everton before retiring. A local physical education teacher named Howard Roberts persuaded a league to allow an eight-year-old Michael to play with under-ten teams at Mold Alexandra. That young boy scored on his debut against Bagillt and went on to net thirty-four goals in twenty-four games during his first season there. By age ten, he had smashed Ian Rush's twenty-year record for the same team by scoring ninety-seven goals in a single season. Scouts from across the nation began monitoring his progress while he attended Rector Drew Primary School in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales.

• 2. The Golden Boot And Ballon D'Or

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  Liverpool youth development officer Steve Heighway wrote personally to Owen when he was twelve years old. The letter convinced the family that Liverpool was the right choice for their son. Heighway stated that nothing fazed Michael Owen and that he was ready for whatever challenges came next. On the 6th of May 1997, Owen scored on his senior debut against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park. He became the club's youngest goalscorer at seventeen years and one hundred forty days. In his first full Premier League season, he finished as joint top scorer with eighteen goals. He won the PFA Young Player of the Year award and finished third in the PFA Player of the Year voting behind Dennis Bergkamp and Tony Adams. A five-year contract worth £2.5 million made him the highest-paid teenager in British football history. His pace allowed Liverpool to feed him through passes and long balls constantly moving from static positions to full speed in split seconds.

• 3. Real Madrid And Injury Nightmares

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  Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez declared his intention to make Owen the next Galáctico in March 2002. The Spanish giants signed him for eight million pounds on the 13th of August 2004. He wore number eleven alongside stars like Luís Figo and Zinedine Zidane during the Galácticos era. Owen scored thirteen goals in La Liga before returning to England the following season. Newcastle United paid a club record fee of sixteen point eight million pounds to obtain him on the 24th of August 2005. A damaged anterior cruciate ligament sustained in the first minute of a group match against Sweden at the 2006 FIFA World Cup kept him out for nearly a year. Newcastle threatened to sue the Football Association for compensation totaling approximately twenty million pounds due to the injury. FIFA eventually reached a compromise settlement figure between six million and seven million pounds with the club.

• 4. Captaincy At St James Park

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  Owen became team captain under manager Kevin Keegan on the 19th of January 2008. He scored his first league goal of that year on the 3rd of February. By the 5th of April 2008, he had scored six goals in the previous six matches. This performance lifted Newcastle into mid-table after earlier relegation fears. The club was relegated from the Premier League on the 24th of May 2009 for the first time in fifteen years. Owen rejected a new contract offer from Newcastle on the 22nd of December 2008. His management company Wasserman Media Group sent out a thirty-four-page brochure advertising him to several potential clubs. He confirmed he would not be re-signing for Newcastle on the 22nd of June 2009.

• 5. Old Trafford And Final Seasons

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  Manchester United announced they had signed Owen on the 3rd of July 2009. Manager Alex Ferguson described the approach as coming out of the blue. Owen received the number seven shirt vacated by Cristiano Ronaldo's departure to Real Madrid. He scored his first competitive goal against Wigan Athletic on the 22nd of August 2009 in a five-nil away win. United won the Premier League title on the 14th of May 2011 with a one-one draw against Blackburn Rovers. Owen was an unused substitute in that decisive game but reached the appearance threshold required for a winner's medal. He joined Stoke City on the 4th of September 2012 on a one-year contract. On the 19th of March 2013, Owen announced his retirement from playing at the end of the 2012, 13 season.

• 6. England's Youngest Star

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  Owen made his debut for the England senior team in a two-zero friendly loss to Chile on the 11th of February 1998. This made him the youngest player to represent England in the twentieth century at eighteen years and fifty-nine days. During the 1998 FIFA World Cup he became England's youngest ever goalscorer in the tournament at eighteen years and one hundred ninety days. In stoppage time of the match against Romania he hit the post with a long range shot. His equalising goal against Argentina in the second round match gave England a two-one lead before they eventually drew the match and went out on penalties. At the end of that year he won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year title. He scored in four consecutive major tournaments for England making him the only player to achieve this feat.

• 7. Life After The Whistle

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  Since retiring from football in 2013 Owen has become a racehorse breeder and owner. He owns many race horses trained by Tom Dascombe including Brown Panther which won a major race at Royal Ascot in 2011. On the 24th of November 2017 Owen rode Calder Prince at Ascot finishing second in a charity contest attended by HRH Prince Charles. He was a brand ambassador for British bookmaker Colossus Bets until June 2022 when he breached UK laws regarding gambling advertising. Following his retirement he works as a pundit appearing for TNT Sports and Amazon Prime Video. He starred as himself in the children's television drama show Hero to Zero where he emerged from a full-size poster to offer advice during crises.