Michael Owen has shut down any debate that Wayne Rooney was better than him at 17 years old with some cold, hard evidence.
The debate was opened on Friday morning and completely shut down around 11 hours later by one of the players himself.
The BBC Match of the Day account posted on X, asking: ‘Who was the better player at the age of 17, Michael Owen or Wayne Rooney?’ And Owen responded with nothing but facts.
Because it’s Owen, an immediate reaction was that his reply reeks of insecurity, but it’s hard to argue with what he said.
In fact, he may have even won over some younger football fans who weren’t aware of just how good he was, especially in his Liverpool days.
Fighting his own corner because nobody else will, Owen responded:
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……
Yep. Okay. Fair enough, mate. And he even admitted that Rooney will go down as a better player because injuries absolutely f***ed his career.
There is one small argument you could make against Owen, and that’s that Rooney was a more complete footballer, even at that age.
Known for his ability to do everything, on top of his ox-like strength at a young age, Rooney was an all-round striker, while Owen was more about pace and his world-class finishing.
Consecutive Golden Boot-winning campaigns at 17 and 18 is an absolutely ridiculous record. That’s 36 goals in 66 Premier League matches, for what it’s worth.
Transfermarkt also tells us he registered 12 assists in 1997/98, when he was 17. In total, he scored 150 Premier League goals in 326 appearances.
The problem with Owen has never been about his ability as a footballer, but his character.
From bullying a 13-year-old goalkeeper to hating movies, he’s quite an odd man. And that will always make a very solid argument like this come off as a little insecure.
You just don’t expect the player in question to fight his own corner. Maybe if it were someone else, everyone might’ have decided that his X post was a breath of fresh air and in no way desperate.
There is clearly a burning desire within Owen to be liked and appreciated as an ex-footballer. Unfortunately, he won’t be remembered fondly in a long line of Real Madrid strikers, while he screwed his Liverpool legacy by later signing for Manchester United (thanks to a brochure).
As for Newcastle United, their fans really don’t like him. He was signed on a huge wage for a club-record fee but failed to make an impact.
He was captain when the Magpies got relegated in 2009 and a perceived lack of fight did not go down well.
And to make matters worse, he admitted in his autobiography that he regretted joining Newcastle from Madrid.
So yes, he was a world-class player, but unfortunately for him he won’t be remembered as a legend at any of the clubs he played for.
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