Michael Owen shuts down Wayne Rooney debate with emphatic claim: ‘Please!’

Michael Owen has been assessing his own career and believes his achievements as a youngster while at Liverpool have been underrated and eclipse those of Wayne Rooney

Michael Owen has confidently stated that he was a better player than Wayne Rooney as a youngster. Owen was a teenage phenomenon at Liverpool, where he began scoring goals consistently at the age of 17.

The England striker was prolific during his early years with the Reds, where he enjoyed by far the best years of his career. Owen netted 158 goals in 297 appearances for the club over eight years and won the Ballon d’Or as a 22-year-old in 2001.

He carried that form over into international football, registering 40 goals in 89 appearances for England, a record that aids the comparison with Rooney. The Manchester United legend started out at Everton, where he burst onto the scene as an exciting and raw 16-year-old talent.

Rooney earned a £25million move to United as an 18-year-old and went on to become the club’s all-time record goal scorer. He also comfortably passed Owen’s tally of 150 Premier League goals, reaching 208, and his number with England, notching 53 from 120 games.

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While both were undoubtedly great English strikers, the question of who was better at an early age has been raised on social media. Match of the Day posed the question on X: “Who was the better player at the age of 17, Michael Owen or Wayne Rooney?”

Owen replied: “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 went on to join Real Madrid in 2004, but only spent one year in Spain, with injuries later impacting his career, which took him to Newcastle, United and Stoke. He expanded on his assessment 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?”

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