Michael Owen Age, Height, Wife & Biography

Michael Owen is an English former professional footballer who was one of the most feared strikers in world football at the turn of the century. Born in Chester in 1979, the Liverpool academy graduate burst onto the scene as a teenager, scored a famous solo goal against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup and won the Ballon d’Or in 2001. He went on to play for Real Madrid, Newcastle United and Manchester United, and he scored 40 goals in 89 appearances for England.

Quick Facts

Who Is Michael Owen?

Michael Owen was a lightning-fast striker whose pace and finishing made him one of Europe’s most exciting young players in the late 1990s. He made his Liverpool debut in May 1997, aged 17, and scored on his first appearance against Wimbledon. In his first full season he scored 18 league goals and was named the PFA Young Player of the Year, and at the 1998 World Cup he announced himself to the world with a stunning solo goal against Argentina.

Owen went on to score 158 goals in 297 appearances for Liverpool, winning the FA Cup, the League Cup and the UEFA Cup in the treble season of 2000-01. In December 2001 he won the Ballon d’Or as Europe’s best player, the first Englishman to do so since Kevin Keegan in 1979. He later played for Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, and he finished his England career with 40 goals in 89 caps.

Early Life & Background

Michael James Owen was born on 14 December 1979 in Chester, England. His father Terry Owen was a professional footballer who played for Chester City and Everton, and Michael grew up with football all around him. He attended Hawarden High School in Flintshire and joined Liverpool’s academy as a schoolboy, having been spotted playing youth football in North Wales and Cheshire.

Owen signed schoolboy forms with Liverpool and progressed quickly through the youth ranks. He made his first-team debut in May 1997 against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park, scoring Liverpool’s only goal in a 2-1 defeat. In the 1997-98 season he scored 18 league goals, finishing as the Premier League’s joint top scorer alongside Dion Dublin and Chris Sutton.

Career

Owen made his England debut in February 1998 against Chile at the age of 18, and he was included in the squad for the World Cup in France that summer. His goal against Argentina in the last 16, a run from the halfway line finished with a powerful shot, remains one of the most famous goals in England’s history. He won the PFA Young Player of the Year award in both 1998 and 1999, and in 2001 he scored a hat-trick in England’s famous 5-1 win over Germany in Munich.

The 2000-01 season was Owen’s finest at Liverpool. He scored twice in the UEFA Cup final as Liverpool beat Alaves 5-4, and he scored two late goals in the FA Cup final as Liverpool came from behind to beat Arsenal 2-1. He also won the League Cup that season and finished the year by winning the Ballon d’Or. He left Liverpool in August 2004 to join Real Madrid for a fee of 8 million pounds, scoring 16 goals in 45 appearances in his one season in Spain.

In August 2005, Owen joined Newcastle United for a club-record fee of 16 million pounds, but his four years on Tyneside were badly affected by injuries, and he scored 30 goals in 79 appearances. In July 2009 he joined Manchester United on a free transfer, where he won the Premier League title in 2011 and the League Cup in 2010, scoring in the final against Aston Villa. He also scored a memorable hat-trick against Wolfsburg in the Champions League in 2009. After a short spell at Stoke City, Owen announced his retirement from football in March 2013, aged 33.

For England, Owen won 89 caps and scored 40 goals between 1998 and 2008, playing at the World Cups of 1998, 2002 and 2006 and at Euro 2000 and Euro 2004. Since retiring he has worked as a television pundit and has built a successful second career in horse racing, running Manor House Stables in Cheshire, where he breeds and trains racehorses.

Facts About Michael Owen

• He won the Ballon d’Or in 2001, the first Englishman to do so since Kevin Keegan in 1979.
• He scored a famous solo goal against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup, aged 18.
• He scored 158 goals in 297 appearances for Liverpool.
• He scored a hat-trick in England’s 5-1 win over Germany in 2001.
• Since retiring, he has run Manor House Stables, a racehorse yard in Cheshire.

Frequently Asked Questions