Michael Owen has suggested he would trade his Ballon d'Or trophy for a Champions League winners' medal with Liverpool. The former striker, who won the prestigious individual award in 2001, admitted that the team success of Liverpool's 2005 Champions League triumph would have meant more to him than his personal accolade.
Owen's Rise at Liverpool
Owen was Liverpool's golden boy around the turn of the century, having come through the academy in the 1990s and developed into a superstar first-team striker. As a 17-year-old prodigy, he lit the league up with his lightning pace in behind defences and clinical finishing. That earned him the Premier League golden boot award in his first two full seasons and established him as a world-class player despite his tender age.
Owen's peak came in 2001, when, aged 22, he had an extraordinary season in which the Reds lifted the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup. That same year, he also netted a legendary hat-trick in England's 5-1 World Cup qualifying win over Germany in Munich. His achievements sealed his reputation as the most clinical striker in the country, and he went on to beat the likes of Rivaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Thierry Henry to the Ballon d'Or prize.
The 2005 Champions League Final
Owen secured a big transfer to Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2004. However, that meant he was not a member of the iconic Reds squad that won the 2004/05 Champions League final in astonishing circumstances, coming back from 3-0 down against AC Milan to win the trophy on penalties. He remained the last Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or until Harry Kane recently claimed the award.
When asked if he would have hypothetically swapped his Ballon d'Or for one more year at Liverpool to win the Champions League, Owen veered slightly towards the side of team success as opposed to personal glory. He said: "Probably. Possibly. I mean, it's a hard one. It was hard for me to watch because obviously I'd just left and the team… it was just unbelievable how they won it. Yeah, they would have been great memories."
Personal Glory vs Team Memories
Owen added: "Winning the Ballon d'Or, it's not like a memory is it, it's just a title in your name and a great achievement. But it doesn't give you that moment that you live for, whereas being involved in Istanbul would have. I had plenty of good moments for Liverpool but that was so iconic. So I'd have to have a good think about that!"
The 46-year-old spent just one campaign in La Liga before his £16.8million switch to Newcastle, where relentless muscle injuries meant he was sidelined for lengthy periods across the following four seasons on Tyneside. His fitness woes continued at Manchester United and later Stoke City, with the striker eventually opting to retire in 2013. While Owen's decision to move to United made him hugely unpopular among a broad section of the Liverpool fanbase, he has repeatedly made it clear that his heart is still with his boyhood club.
