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Michael Owen has boldly declared that he surpassed Wayne Rooney as a young player during their teenage years.
Owen emerged as a sensational talent at Liverpool, where he began finding the net regularly at just 17 years of age. The England forward proved devastatingly effective throughout his early stint with the Reds, experiencing what would become the finest period of his career.
Owen managed 158 strikes across 297 matches for the club during an eight-year spell and claimed the Ballon d'Or aged 22 in 2001. He transferred that impressive form to the international stage, bagging 40 goals across 89 England appearances, a statistic that supports any comparison with Manchester United legend Rooney.
Rooney began his journey at Everton, where he exploded onto the scene as a thrilling and unpolished 16-year-old prospect. Rooney secured a transfer to United at 18 and subsequently became the club's greatest ever goalscorer.
He also easily surpassed Owen's tally of 150 Premier League strikes, achieving 208, alongside his England total, managing 53 across 120 matches. While both undoubtedly rank amongst England's finest strikers, the matter of superior early ability has emerged on social media.
Match of the Day presented the question on X: "Who was the better player at the age of 17, Michael Owen or Wayne Rooney?"
Owen retorted: "At 17 I scored 18 PL goals (winning the Golden Boot), Wazza scored 6. At 18 I again scored 18 goals (again winning the Golden Boot and coming 4th in The Ballon d'Or), Wazza scored 9. In our opening 7 seasons, Wazza didn't outscore me once (117 goals v 80).
"In which time I became the 2nd youngest Ballon d'Or winner ever. Injuries hindered me from then on while he sustained his level. Therefore, he'll go down as a better player than me. But, at 17, please."
Owen transferred to Real Madrid in 2004, but only spent one year in Spain, with injuries later affecting his career, which led him to Newcastle, Manchester United, and Stoke. He elaborated on his evaluation of his career on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast this week.
"Was there another 18-year-old who was near me at 18? I was light years clear of anything in my age group – anything and probably anything around my age group in England," he said.
"I got into the Liverpool team and won the Golden Boot at 17. Forget all the achievements, there will never ever be a two-time Golden Boot winner as a 17-year-old and 18-year-old in the Premier League."
He added: "I sort of split my career into two: almost Liverpool and maybe Madrid, and then afterwards, because I just wasn't the same. Not that I didn't like it – I loved it at United. I love you (Rio) and the lads and whatever.
"But I'm not me. I'm not me. You know what I was when I was 18, and you know what I was when I was 30. It's like, I was half-embarrassed. I'm coming out to these big stadiums, St James' Park, Old Trafford, with my name on my back.
"It's like, can I not just change my name and just think of something, like call me something else? I don't want people to remember me like this. [I was] still good, still scoring, but I'm not what I was. It's killing me. But it's like, what can you do?"
English (US) ·