Michael Owen has revealed the only two footballers who ever made him feel inferior. Thanks to his transfer sagas with Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Manchester United - not to mention his often divisive punditry - many have overlooked just how extraordinary the 2001 Ballon d'Or winner was at his peak since his retirement.
In the early days of his career, English football had rarely witnessed such a meteoric rise. Owen became the Premier League’s youngest-ever Golden Boot winner in the 1997/98 season, scoring 18 goals at just 18 years old. He then retained the award the following term. By the time he left Liverpool, his record of 158 goals in 297 appearances had secured him a place inside the club’s top ten all-time scorers, which he remains ninth on.
So, in layman's terms, Owen was never 'just' a mouthpiece for the beautiful game. Yet, even players of his calibre can have moments of doubt. As he was breaking through, there were two strikers operating at a level so high that Owen realised - no matter ambitious he was - he could never quite be the very best, as he revealed in a recent appearance on Rio Ferdinand's podcast.
Ronaldo
ronaldo nazario 2002 world cup
The first player Owen mentioned during a segment about the very best players in the world was Ronaldo. O Fenomeno ('The Phenomenon') is highly regarded as the most complete forward in the beautiful game's history. At the peak of his powers, the two-time Ballon d’Or winner was virtually unplayable, and his ability to shake up the entire back line with one quick turn translated into an astonishing goal tally of 371 in 580 appearances, making him one of Brazil's all-time greats.
He also won the World Cup twice, and watching him as a youngster gave Owen plenty of reality checks. "When I was growing up, like 15 or 16, and watching R9, I was thinking 'oh no'," he said, "I was thinking I was going to be as good as it gets, I think I'm going to be world-class blah blah blah, and then I watch him and I think, 'oh no, I'm just going to be his understudy.'"
Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry vs Manchester United
"When he came to the Premier League, I thought, 'I am never going to win a Golden Boot ever again,'" Owen remarked about Thierry Henry. The Frenchman transformed English football upon his arrival to Arsenal in 1999, scoring 175 goals and providing 74 assists in just 258 Premier League appearances. Along the way, he won two league titles - including the iconic Invincibles season - four Golden Boots, and two PFA Player of the Year awards, cementing his reputation as arguably the greatest player the league has ever seen.
Owen explained that while he respected legends such as Alan Shearer and Ruud van Nistelrooy, he never felt they could do things beyond his own ability. With Henry, however, it was different. The Arsenal striker was the ultimate entertainer of his era, with technical brilliance that left defenders looking helpless as he twisted, turned, and inevitably added another goal or assist to his name week in and week out. Watch the full segment of Rio Ferdinand's podcast below: