Michael Owen’s son was forced to retire from football at an early age due to a rare genetic disease.
Owen’s second child with his wife Louise Bonsall, James, was diagnosed with a rare genetic eye disease ‘Stargardt’ when he was just eight-years-old.
It is a rare genetic retinal disorder that causes progressive degeneration of the macula which is the central retina responsible for colour vision and detailed tasks such as reading.
The condition usually manifests during childhood and common signs include blurred vision, blind spots and difficulty recognising faces.
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There is currently no cure and no approved treatments to stop progressions meaning management is forced to solely focus on preserving remaining vision and adapting to daily life.
Therefore, James was forced to cut short what dad Michael expected to be a promising football career after he ‘lost enjoyment’ of playing when his condition worsened meaning he could only see the ball if it was five yards away.
Former Liverpool and Real Madrid man Owen admitted he would do anything for his son to see in a heart-breaking appearance on the BBC.
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"If I could give him my eyes ... I would," he said on the BBC Access All podcast.
"I would pay every cent I've got to make James see again."
Owen spoke to The Mail in 2024 and admitted being asked about his son following in his footsteps in football is probably the ‘worst question’ he gets asked.
"You find yourself either having to make an excuse or say he's not interested and people look at you and say 'he's not interested in football?',” he said.
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“Then you have to explain everything and you end up in a conversation you don't really want to have with anybody.
“When someone comes up to you in the pub and says 'does your son play?' you just want to change the subject. That's probably been the hardest thing over the years.
“James probably wasn't enjoying football as much as he should have been because he wasn't as good as he should have been.
“When he was very young and his eyes were probably slightly better than they are now and the pitches were smaller and everything was a lot closer so he could see the ball better, he was very, very good. I said to my dad and my wife and everyone 'he's got a right chance here of being a footballer'.
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"But then as soon as he got diagnosed, he just sort of gradually stopped. He coped with it well."
During an appearance on Good Morning Britain, James admitted he dreamt of being a footballer before the disease tragically cut short his career.
He said: “Everyone dreams of being a footballer when they’re younger, so it was quite hard, especially with it being so close to home. It’s something you have to get over. It was hard at the time and I did struggle with it for a long time.”
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Owen claimed he was ‘least worried’ about James’ future out of all his four children due to his incredible mindset and backed him to take over the family’s empire after his retirement.
Topics: Michael Owen, Football
Marcus Banks