Michael Owen snubbed the likes of Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes when naming the ‘best player’ he played alongside during his illustrious career.
Owen, 45, had the honour of sharing a pitch with several talented footballers during his playing career with Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Stoke City and the England national team.
The Chester-born former forward was a top-class player in his own right and netted 223 goals in 483 club appearances. He even won the Ballon d’Or in 2001, beating Madrid’s Raul to the coveted award.
But who does he consider to be the best player he played with?
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Well, it’s not Gerrard, Frank Lampard or Scholes, but he did name another classy centre-midfielder.
The 45-year-old dubbed Zinedine Zidane as the “best” he played alongside.
"Zidane was the best player I ever played with," Owen said when speaking on Off The Ball in November 2022.
"He was absolutely born to be a footballer."
The Frenchman played with Owen on 31 occasions during their time at Los Blancos.
"You know when you're a kid and you've got the football at the end of a string, it just keeps coming back to you?," he added. "It was like he played with an invisible string.
"No matter what, it was always the same distance away from him. If a ball comes into my chest, you chest it and wait for it to drop, and you take another touch, and you're off.
"He would just have this amazing [instinct], if a ball came round his ear or anywhere, he could just take it into the direction he wanted to in one touch and it would be in perfect control."
Owen described the versatility and strength of the former Juventus man as two of his biggest assets.
"He was incredible," Owen explained. "Left foot, right foot, he was so fast, so strong. He could do a Cruyff turn out of a little hole and burst away. The strength of the guy as well."
And despite only playing together for a season, Zidane even backed Owen to make an impact upon his return to the Premier League with Newcastle United in 2005.
"You know you are going to get goals when he's in your side - and it's goals that bring you success," Zidane told the Sunday Mirror [via Sky Sports].
"I'm disappointed that Michael has chosen to leave Madrid because world-class players are difficult to replace.
"But he hasn't left because he failed at Madrid - on the contrary I think he was a big success. He may have arrived with a big reputation but he returns an even better player."
Topics: Michael Owen, Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, Champions League
Luke Davies