#2 Michael Owen
When Michael Owen first burst onto the scene in 1997/98 – scoring 18 Premier League goals and starring for England at the World Cup with that goal against Argentina – there seemed to be no question that he’d go on to be a legend and probably break Bobby Charlton’s scoring record for his country.
While Owen definitely did see a ton of success in his career, most notably helping Liverpool to a treble of the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup in 2001 and winning the Ballon d’Or in the same season, that turned out to be his career high point.
He was just 21 at the time. Injuries to his ankle, knee and hamstring began to hamper his career by 2004 and a move to Real Madrid proved largely fruitless as he was behind Ronaldo in the pecking order.
Owen signed for Newcastle in 2005 but further injuries – most notably an ACL tear while representing England in the 2006 World Cup – basically wrecked his Newcastle career and by the time he moved to Manchester United in 2009 he was a shadow of his former self and ended up retiring in 2013 after making just 39 Premier League appearances in four seasons.
Owen’s peak was incredibly high as he was a truly world-class talent, but his injuries meant that it was all too short.
