Ballon d'Or winners 2000-2010: Where are they now?

Michael Owen (2001)

Then

The only Ballon d’Or winner from Liverpool, Michael Owen burst onto the scene as a fresh-faced seventeen-year-old. His goalscoring exploits soon made him a first-team regular as he guided Liverpool to an unprecedented five-trophy haul in 2000/2001 season.

At his peak, Owen was renowned for his pace, agility and goalscoring skills. Undoubtedly Liverpool’s and England’s talisman in the early 2000s, Michael Owen won the Ballon d’Or in 2001 slightly controversially ahead of Real Madrid and Spain legend Raul Gonzalez.

Now

After his spell at Liverpool, Owen made a big money move to Real Madrid, but injury problems saw his role restricted and he made a move back to the Premier League when he joined Newcastle.

After his spell at Tyneside, the Englishman controversially joined Liverpool’s arch rivals Manchester United where he won a Premier League title with Sir Alex Ferguson. The striker finally called time on his career in 2013 at Stoke City.

After retirement, Owen has taken up the role of a football commentator and pundit at BT Sports. He also owns a minority stake in the social media company Sportslobster along with F1 driver Mark Webber.

The former Liverpool man is also an avid horse enthusiast and keeps tweeting regularly about his horses. In April 2006, Owen was controversially appointed as Liverpool’s first official international ambassador.