He won the Ballon D'or at 22 years old... What Happened?

When you look back at the Galacticos era of Real Madrid in the early 2000s, you think of players like Ronaldo, Zidane, Roberto Carlos, Raul, and David Beckham. But do you remember when they signed who seemed like, at the time, the most promising and talented English player in history? Michael Owen was the second youngest player to ever win the Ballon d'Or, younger than even Lionel Messi when he first won it at 22 years old. It's likely that some of you might have never even heard of this once amazing young talent before. So what ever happened to him? How did he go from being the best in the world to almost completely forgotten in such a short time? Hey guys, what's up? It's Raymar, back again for another video and today, we're gonna look at the downfall of Michael Owen. How it happened. But before we start, make sure you watch till the end to find out the winner of my Thierry Henry jersey giveaway from So with that being said, let's get on to it. Let's bring it back to an iconic 1998 World Cup match in England vs Argentina, in which David Beckham was sent off the match and would later be blamed and hated first country's exit. However, just a few minutes before that iconic moment would happen, an 18-year-old rising star named Michael Owen would make an incredible run and score one of the greatest individual goals in England's international history. This match was a springboard for one English hero in Michael Owen, while for David Beckham on the other hand, was a source of much hate and regret. But now, almost 22 years later, the football world remembers David Beckham in a much higher light and respect, while the young prodigy Owen, who at the time people thought would turn out to be the greatest player to ever hail from England, has been seemingly forgotten altogether. Owen's performance showed exactly why everyone would see him as head and shoulders above the rest of the most exciting young players in the world. His speed, touch and finishing was that of a veteran star and many would begin to take notice and talk about who they were thinking was surely the most promising star to ever hail from England. However, for Liverpool and Premier League fans, this was nothing new. It was what exactly was to be expected of someone who finished their first full season with the Liverpool senior team only at the age of 17. In 1998, at only 19 years old, Owen was a natural goal-scoring machine who would impress the entirety of the Premier League by scoring 23 goals in 44 appearances at such a young age, just on his second full season. This season saw Michael Owen winning the Premier League Golden Boot and was awarded the PFA Young Player of the Year award, bringing his name and hype slowly up to a global superstar level at such a young age. Owen was considered a prodigy and all eyes were on the young striker. Liverpool knew that they just had to keep their first choice rising star so they signed him under a 5-year, 2.5 million deal. Which, looking back at it, wasn't exactly as much compared to the overpaid players of today's age, but it definitely wasn't bad for a kid who, in the US, wouldn't even be old enough to buy alcohol yet. At the time, Owen was the highest paid teenager in the history of British football. Owen was also the runner-up to no other than the legendary Zinedine Zidane in the World Player of the Year award in 1998, who was the topic of my last video which, quick plug if you haven't seen already, is in the description or the top right corner of your screen right now. But just imagine for a second if a 19-year-old today had nearly beat Messi or Ronaldo in their primes for the Ballon d'Or. It had the same impact back then to finish just behind Zidane, who had won the World Cup and was the unquestionable best player of the world at the time. This can just give you a small glimpse of the hype behind the young Michael Owen. The very following Premier League season, despite suffering from a hamstring injury that would end his season early, Michael Owen still somehow managed to retain his previous season's awards and yet again be crowned, or should I say booted, with the Premier League golden boot. Scoring another 23 goals, but this time in 40 matches, which was four less than he played the previous season. Other players in the league had played more games than him, but yet he still managed to score more goals than anyone else. Incredibly amazing for the 20-year-old Owen. But what was it exactly that made Owen such an exceptional striker? If you had to break it down to one thing, many would agree that it would ultimately come to his lightning-fast pace being his greatest strength. In just a matter of seconds, a perfectly placed through ball would see Owen from a static position to a full-blown sprint in a matter of split seconds, leaving defenders in the dust. In an article regarding Owen's injury written by ESPN, they would say his speed would eventually prove too much for his hamstrings to handle again. This injury would see Owen gone from action for almost five whole months during the 1999-2000 season. By the time January had come around, he had only played a total of four games so far. Unsurprisingly, he would not be able to 3-peat the Premier League golden boot, which would have been absolutely legendary if he could have pulled it off. Owen just couldn't seem to catch a break as later in the season, he would once again receive another hamstring injury. And without their star player, Liverpool was going nowhere both in the Premier League and the Champions League. However, Owen would still manage to score 12 goals that season despite the serious lack of playing time. Finally, in 2001, things would start looking good for Owen and his team. Liverpool would go on to win the treble in the 2000-2001 season with a league title, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Cup, which ended a six-year drought for Liverpool. That combined with scoring 24 goals in 46 matches would earn Owen the Ballon d'Or, making him the first English player to receive the award since Kevin Keegan in 1979. This Ballon d'Or, like I mentioned in a previous video, was quite controversial as many people believed Owen did not do that much to deserve the award compared to Raul or Oliver Kahn. However, some would say Owen's two last-minute clutch goals in the 2001 FA Cup final to come back from certain defeat at the hands of Arsenal is what really gave him the edge over the other two runner-ups, making him the second youngest to ever win the award second only to Ronaldo the Phenomeno. Surprisingly enough, that Ballon d'Or year wouldn't even be Owen's individual best for Liverpool. The following season, although Liverpool would finish second place in league standings, they would go on to win the Charity Shield and UEFA Super Cup, with Owen having his best scoring record yet, netting the ball 28 times in 43 appearances, with a goal-scoring ratio of 0.65 goals a game, which might not sound too impressive with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo averaging that on a seasonal basis, but for the Premier League at the time, that was incredibly respectable. It was in 2002 when Papa Florentino Perez of Real Madrid had started to set his eyes on the young superstar. It was quite a well-known fact that Perez was looking to sign the very best players and have them play for Real Madrid in what has become known as the Galacticos campaign. Just to give you an exact idea of how hyped and valued Michael Owen was at the time, then-Liverpool manager Gerard Holier said, Real Madrid might be able to afford Ronaldo, but they can't afford Michael Owen. For that kind of money, they could only buy his left foot, but he is not going anywhere. Which in hindsight was a completely ridiculous statement, but at the time, did not seem that far-fetched. Owen would have a strong 2002-2003 season, as he would score 28 goals once more, but this time with a few more games played at 54 appearances. Liverpool, however, wasn't doing too well in the Premier League and failed to even qualify for the Champions League. They did however win the League Cup, but Owen controversially lost out on the PFA Player of the Year award that year. That summer, Owen was heavily linked to a move outside of the Premier League, mainly with either Real Madrid or Barcelona. He was even quoted saying that he wanted to play for a team that could make it to the Champions League once more, as Liverpool was not able to secure him with that experience. The following 2003-2004 season, Michael Owen and Liverpool would have a strong start to the season and were clear title contenders once more. But again, luck would not be on Owen's side as he would suffer another injury, this time on his ankles in a game against Arsenal. He would go through what he would describe as 3 months of injury nightmare, and the Liverpool season would fall apart. It would take him another 9 months to finally score a goal once more. However, Liverpool would just barely hold the 4th spot on the league table and their chance at the Champions League once more. He would end the season scoring 19 goals in 38 appearances, which, all things considered, was still really great despite all the injuries he had to go through. By the end of 2004, Real Madrid had taken the opportunity to sign Michael Owen. He would wear the number 11 and play alongside Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Raul, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, and England teammate David Beckham in the iconic Galacticos era. However, Owen for the most part had a very slow start to his Madrid career. He was basically confined to sitting on the bench and was criticized for his lack of form. The best Owen could muster up for his club was 5 goals in 7 matches, which, although impressive, was followed by a long goalscoring drought afterwards. Owen would end the 2004 caliber of player and the hype behind him, plus the high expectations and harsh judgments of the Real Madrid fans, it was extremely underwhelming. Despite Owen finishing the season with the highest ratio of goals scored to number of minutes played, it seemed as if Owen's days were behind him and all his injuries finally caught up to him. His pace, which was his greatest skillset, was a former shadow of itself. Owen would never again score more than 16 goals within an entire season. He would leave Madrid shortly after and bounce around Premier League teams like Newcastle United, Manchester United, and finally end his career in Stoke City. But once again, after his time with Real Madrid, Owen was merely a shadow of his former self. Maybe his lack of playing time in Real Madrid truly did permanently put him out of great form, or maybe his injuries had finally caught up to him. Either way, it was an established fact that Owen was indeed a monster in his prime. If only he had stayed healthy and had played more consistently, he might have very well been as remembered on the same caliber as David Beckham or Wayne Rooney as a legend for his country, and one of the iconic great football players. But unfortunately, Owen didn't have rather exceptional touch, dribbling, or finishing. It was just mainly his speed that really shined above everyone else's. But, no doubt, he will be remembered as a Liverpool legend and one of the greatest young stars who ever played. I'm gonna go ahead and announce the winner of the Thierry Henry jersey giveaway. I'm sorry if you didn't win, I really appreciate all those who entered in support of the video, but I can only give it to one person, so congrats to Bendover, you are the very lucky individual for today. But anyways, that's gonna do it for me guys, let me know what you think in the comments below. If you have any other video suggestions, feel free to drop them there as well. Make sure to leave a like if you did enjoy as it helps support my channel, and subscribe if you haven't already for the highest quality football documentaries on YouTube. Thank you guys for all the love, and I'll see you in the next one.