Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Michael Owen, David Beckham, England, Football
Tom Jenkins
Michael Owen has admitted that two of his former international teammates left him 'resentful' for over 25 years.
The former Liverpool star burst onto the international scene aged 18, and became England's World Cup goalscorer in 1998.
Owen went on to clock up 40 goals in 89 national team appearances spanning just 10 years with his final cap coming in 2008.
His outrageous solo effort against Argentina in his debut World Cup went down as one of the finest major tournament goals ever scored, however, England were knocked out on penalties.
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Owen has since revealed he felt aggrieved after Paul Ince failed to score from the penalty spot, however, it was David Beckham's controversial red card that bothered the former Real Madrid striker most.
Despite not believing the infamous kick-out was a sending off, Owen explained on William Hill's Up Front with Simon Jordan podcast the reason he hasn't forgiven his former teammate.
Owen said: "Firstly, I don't believe David Beckham's kick out at Diego Simeone should've been a red card, but that is irrelevant. He made a mistake and that is where my resentment lies.
"For a lot of players, you only get one shot at a World Cup, and he made a big mistake – he would admit that. You could say that it contributed to us being knocked out and that is a big thing.
"You can resent a lot of things if you use that word, and I do resent a lot of things. Paul Ince missed a penalty and I resent him choosing to shoot the ball one way instead of the other, in the same way, I resent Beckham making the decision to kick out at Simeone," he added.
"I resent his actions for all manner of reasons. It was a mistake that only he made and it makes you think that if he hadn't done it, we could have beaten Argentina.
"I'm absolutely convinced that we would've beaten them with 11 men because we were the better team. We had an unbelievable team so of course I think to myself what could have been."
Beckham was subjected to months of abuse from fans and the media following his dismissal, but ended his career as England captain.