Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe and Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland are not in the same bracket as Michael Owen when he played for Liverpool.
That's according to former Leicester City striker Emile Heskey, who played alongside Owen for both Liverpool and England.
Mbappe, 22, has been piled with praise earlier this week as he scored a fantastic hat-trick in PSG's 4-1 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League.
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Both Mbappe and Haaland have been tipped as the 'heirs' to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the footballing world.
However, Heskey has insisted that he will usually compare "young players coming through at a certain age" to what Owen achieved when he burst onto the scene.
The 43-year-old told talkSPORT: "Whenever everyone talks about stats and young players coming through at a certain age, I always go to Michael.
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"I start comparing them with him, and a lot of them don't compare to him.
"For the stuff he did and the age he did it at, and his maturity at that age as well.
"But then again, you play from the age of 16 and you're going to pick up injuries -- and that was his downfall, the amount of football he was playing."
Owen was at his best during his eight years at Anfield and lifted the UEFA Cup, two League Cups and an FA Cup with Liverpool.
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The former Reds striker, who retired from football, also captured the Ballon d'Or in 2001 at the age of 22.
Owen left Liverpool in 2004 to complete a sensational move to Real Madrid, but he only spent one lacklustre season at Los Blancos.
The Ballon d'Or winner struggled with injuries in his career, but Owen did play for Newcastle, Manchester United and Stoke City before he retired from football.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Paris Saint-Germain, Football, Ligue 1, PSG, Erling Haaland, Borussia Dortmund, Germany, Michael Owen, France, Bundesliga
