#3 Michael Owen
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Owen was a true phenomenon for Liverpool, adored by the faithful as he’d been one of their own. The Englishman came through the youth ranks before eventually making his first-team debut at the age of 17. Between the ages of 18 and 24, he scored 117 league goals in 7 seasons of top-flight football and is still the last Englishman to have won the Ballon d’Or.
He left a sour taste in the mouths of everyone associated with club when he left on a free to Real Madrid in 2004; a blow lessened by the fact that the Reds would go on to win the Champions League under Rafa Benitez that season, a trophy Owen failed to win in his career. His stint at the Los Blancos was short-lived, however, hampered by injuries and overall failing to consistently impress at the level required to play for the Spanish giants.
He ended up moving back to English shores just a year later and signing for Newcastle United, where he again failed to recapture the form that saw him heralded as one of the best strikers of the modern game, scoring only a further 32 league goals in the next 8 seasons.
He became universally hated amongst all Liverpool fans when he signed for bitter-rivals Manchester United, popularly scoring an all-important ‘Fergie time’ goal that saw United run out 4-3 winners against City at Old Trafford.
Owen has been criticsed even after retiring as a player as his punditry has been often ridiculed, with his commentary regarded as one of the most boring and mundane in the sport today.
