Michael Owen believes his 2001 Ballon d’Or success has not been celebrated in England to the extent that the same achievement might have been for other players, despite the award remaining one of the standout individual honours in British football.
Owen’s place in Ballon d’Or history
Until this week, Owen had been the most recent English winner of the prize. Harry Kane’s victory on Monday has now ended that distinction.
Owen was only 22 when he collected the Ballon d’Or after a remarkable campaign for Liverpool. The club secured a cup treble that season, lifting the League Cup, UEFA Cup and FA Cup.
- Liverpool won the League Cup, UEFA Cup and FA Cup in Owen’s Ballon d’Or year.
- Owen also scored a hat-trick as England defeated Germany 5-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Munich.
- His form had established him as the country’s most feared and prolific forward.
Ahead of football’s leading names
Owen claimed the game’s most prestigious individual award ahead of an elite field that included Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Raúl, Rivaldo, David Beckham and Luis Figo.
Despite that competition, the former striker feels the scale of the achievement has not always received the recognition he expected.
“I feel I have not been given the level of credit that others would receive for winning the Ballon d’Or,” Owen said. “The award has never carried quite the same importance in this country. In Spain, people told me I was a hero for winning it, and I am hugely proud of it.
“Awe-inspiring” list of rivals
Owen said he still keeps an image of the voting breakdown on his phone, including the players who finished second, third and fourth.
“When you see those names, it is awe-inspiring,” he said. “As a child, that was everything I wanted. I did not only want to become a footballer; I wanted to become the best footballer.
“It probably means more to me now than it did during my playing career. At 22, it felt like another trophy and the thought was simply that I had to win it again.”
A Liverpool landmark
Owen’s triumph came before the Ballon d’Or reached another level of worldwide attention during the Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi era. Their annual rivalry through the latter part of the 2000s and across the 2010s turned the contest to be recognised as football’s best player into a defining storyline.
He remains Liverpool’s only Ballon d’Or winner to have received the award while representing the Merseyside club.
