Former Manchester United striker Michael Owen has spoken about his late career frustrations.
When Sir Alex Ferguson signed Michael Owen in 2009, the timing meant the deal was destined to fail.
Owen signed on a free transfer in the same summer Manchester United sold Cristiano Ronaldo for a club record £80 million.
The optics of the deal put Owen under pressure, along with his former Liverpool connections. A sensational winner against City helped, but the sad truth was that the striker was a shadow of his former self.
Owen’s Manchester United career was wrecked by injuries. He played 52 games in three years, scoring 17 goals.
Michael Owen smiles and hugs United teammate Paul Scholes
Photo credit should read ANDREW YATES/AFP via Getty Images
Michael Owen’s Manchester United fear
Michael Owen spoke to Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel to look back on his career, which he accepts peaked too early.
Owen won the Ballon d’Or in 2001 and remains the last English player to accomplish the feat.
His career was set back by hamstring injuries that impacted his stint at Manchester United.
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And speaking to Rio Ferdinand, Owen explained how his sadness that he could no longer play at the style he did at his peak, left him fearful at Old Trafford.
Playing together for England, Paul Scholes used to play defence-splitting passes that Owen would thrive on. But at Manchester United, he could no longer do his part.
Owen said: “Scholesy would get the ball when I was at United, when I was 32, I’d be like, ‘Oh no’.
“‘I can see it. My brain is telling me, my instinct and everything. And Scholes is looking at me and thinking, run, run. And I know I would have scored. I know I could have scored.
“‘If I was the same as it was when I was 17, I’d be scoring these massive numbers, but I was like, ‘I can’t, I can’t, I’ll snap my hamstring.’
Owen explained how he had to compromise his game, and could still finish if the ball came to him, but he was not the same player who lit up the 1998 World Cup with England.
“I’ve got to link it. Get the ball and I’ll just get in the box, and if the ball dropped, I could still finish.”
What Michael Owen won at Manchester United
Michael Owen had extra pressure at Manchester United after taking the number seven shirt previously held by Ronaldo.
He won the League Cup in his first season, scoring a goal against Aston Villa in a 2-1 victory in the final.
Owen also won the Premier League for the first time in his career in 2010/11, but he only played 11 games in that season and scored twice.
He only played one league game the following season before being released, and later joined Stoke City before he retired.