10 footballers whose careers dipped after joining Real Madrid

Modified Jul 24, 2018 16:01 GMT

While many careers have been made at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, many have been ended as well

#2: Michael Owen

Michael Owen fell short in competition with the legendary Raul.

Michael Owen is the last English player to win a Ballon d'Or, and was a top-class striker gifted with technical abilities.

He scored a world-class goal against Argentina in 1998 and averaged more than a goal every other game over 8 years at Liverpool.

But, the sensational English frontman was unable to refuse the lure of Real Madrid when they came hawking for him.

Owen joined countrymate Beckham but was far from what the prolific winger achieved at the Bernabeu.

Coming to Madrid he realised that he would never get a chance to oust Raul as the spearhead of Madrid's attack.

As a result, the Englishman wasted a majority of time in his peak years waiting on the benches.

He scored 13 goals in 36 games in his only season at Real Madrid but was deemed as surplus to requirements at the club.

Madrid shipped him off to Newcastle in 2005. After that, Owen did have a spell with Manchester United but remained a pale shadow of the 2002 Ballon d'Or winner.

Edited by Aakanksh Sanketh