Michael Owen has said that he doesn’t believe he got the sort of credit that “others would” for winning the Ballon d’Or when he triumphed in 2001.
Up until just this week, Owen was the last Englishman to win the award — but Harry Kane‘s victory on Monday means that is no longer the case.
Owen won the Ballon d’Or at the age of just 22, following an extraordinary season with Liverpool in which the Reds won a cup Treble — the League Cup, the UEFA Cup and the FA Cup.
2001 was also the year that Owen netted a hat trick in England‘s famous 5-1 World Cup qualifying win over Germany in Munich. He had developed a reputation as the most lethal striker in the country.
To win the highest individual honour for a footballer, Owen beat out the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Raúl, Rivaldo, compatriot David Beckham and Luis Figo.
In an interview with FourFourTwo, Owen has revealed that he doesn’t think his achievement was met with much fanfare.
“I believe I don’t get the sort of credit that other people would get for winning the Ballon d’Or,” Owen said. “It’s never been that important in our country. When I was in Spain, they said I was a hero for winning it. I’m immensely proud of winning it.
“I look down the list of names, and I still have it saved on my phone — a photo of the points system and who was second, third, fourth and the rest of it.
“You look at that list and it’s awe-inspiring. That’s all I ever wanted as a kid. I didn’t just want to be a footballer; I wanted to be the best footballer. Winning it feels better now than it did when I was playing. You’re 22 — it’s just another trophy, and now I’ve got to win it again.”
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Owen won the award before its profile was truly raised by the Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi era, in which the two rivals competed for the award every season throughout the late 2000s and the 2010s and the football world was captured by their battle to be named the best player in the world.
He remains the last — and only — Liverpool player to win the award while playing for the Merseyside club at the time.
