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Though one of the most prolific strikers during his time, Michael Owen, a Liverpool and English football star, failed to shine at Real Madrid during the one season he stayed with them out of a four-season deal with the club. Although his playing time was overshadowed by Galacticos like Ronaldo and Raul in the forward lines, Owen managed to bag an impressive 13 goals off 20 starts, with the best goal to minute ratio in La Liga in 2004-05.
The journey from Liverpool to Madrid
Michael Owen was seen as an emerging star right from the time he was playing U-11 matches for his school and by the time he was 14, Liverpool signed him on a schoolboy contract. He also played for England in the U-15, U-16, U-18 and U-21 levels, scoring a mind-boggling 38 goals in 34 appearances in all the aforementioned competitions.
He managed to secure a spot for himself in the Liverpool senior team in his 17th birthday and played an instrumental role in the oncoming years for the club, helping them end their six trophy-less years with a UEFA Cup, FA Cup, and League Cup in the 2000-01 season.
At the beginning of the 2001-2002 season, Owen helped his club win the UEFA Super Cup and Charity Shield, making Liverpool the only English team to have won 5 trophies in a calendar year.
Owen saw himself as a one-club-man, but the departure of then manager Gerard Houllier in 2004 - who had previously rebuked Real Madrid’s attempts to sign the striker since 2002 – saw him eventually make a move to the Santiago Bernabeu, joining the ranks of Figo, Raul, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Zinedine Zidane and his fellow countryman David Beckham.
Although he was leaving his boyhood club, it was always in his mind to return back to Anfield. But that never materialised.
During his time at Anfield, Owen had managed to score 179 goals in 326 appearances for the club. He also became the youngest player to score 100 Premier League goals, bettering Robbie Fowlers record by almost 5 months at 23 years 4 months and 12 days.
A season at Real overshadowed by Ronaldo and Raul
Amidst speculation of whether it would happen or not, 2004-05 saw Michael Owen joining the Galacticos of Real Madrid as their number 11 for £8 million and midfielder Anthony Nunez switched sides to Liverpool as part of the deal. To begin with, Owen was always considered a second-choice striker to Ronaldo, who was a fan favourite along with Raul.
Mostly confined to the bench, Owen came on as a sub 15 times and started 20 games, scoring 13 goals in the Spanish league and 6 goals in 8 other games for the club. His slow start to the season also drew criticism from the press and fans alike, but soon he regained form and scored 5 goals in his first seven appearances for the club.
Owen has often been quoted saying that although he loved his life on-pitch and as a Real Madrid player off it too, things weren’t as comfortable for his family.
Owen moved to Spain with his two-year-old daughter Gemma Rose and wife Louise Bonsall, and stayed in a business suite for the first five months, which was provided by the club. The former-England international has often gone on the record stating that life for his family living in a hotel wasn't what he had planned for and it would often get hectic.
He was also not getting ample amount of playing time as the 2006 FIFA World Cup was around the corner and he needed to be playing regularly to be in form and make it to his national squad for the tournament.
Amidst all the problems faced in his personal life and insufficient playing time, Owen made it clear to the board at Real that he was rooting for a move back to the Premier League.
Although he had always wanted to return to the Reds of Merseyside, Liverpool couldn’t match the £16-million asking price by Real and the striker joined Newcastle United to get more playing time to be the first-choice striker of the England squad ahead of the 2006 World Cup.
Career in numbers
- 40 goals in 89 caps for England, making him fifth on the list of all-time highest goalscorers from England at the international level.
- 150 goals in the Premier League, making him one of eight players to be able to achieve this feat.
- 246 goals scored as a player for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City in a total of 477 appearances.
- 13 goals he scored against Newcastle while playing for other clubs. Also, the highest number of total goals he has scored against any single club.
- 5 times he played against Liverpool and didn’t score even once.
