Michael Owen says player who left Liverpool for free was more important than Zinedine Zidane

Michael Owen recently reflected on his playing time at both Liverpool and Real Madrid during his illustrious career.

As Mohamed Salah is backed to win the Ballon d’Or, seasoned supporters will remember when Owen claimed the award in 2001 and remains the only Liverpool player to do so.

Liverpool have four players nominated for the award this year, with Virgil van Dijk coming the closest to claiming football’s greatest individual honour when the Reds captain finished runner-up in 2019.

Owen has a turbulent relationship with the supporters. However, his decision to join fierce rivals Manchester United in 2009 all but ended any love remaining on Merseyside after he left Liverpool for Real Madrid, the year before the 2005 Champions League triumph.

He played with some of the biggest names in football throughout his career, and while he named Zinedine Zidane as the best player he has played with, Owen claimed there is a former Liverpool teammate he would rather have alongside him.

Michael Owen would rather play with Steven Gerrard

When speaking to Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel, Owen said there is no other teammate he would rather play with in an important match than Reds legend Steven Gerrard.

“The best player I ever played with was Zidane. Elegance, just a ballerina, just beautiful, just incredible, just everything that he did was unbelievable.

“But if you said to me, ‘You’re going to war now, you’re playing in the biggest game of your life tomorrow, who do you want alongside you?’ I mean, Stevie was everything.

“He’s just too big, too strong, he’s the best passer of the ball you could imagine. I mean, we all talk about Scholes and Becks, you know, great passers of the ball – Stevie’s passing was incredible. I mean, his goalscoring, his vision.”

Emile Heskey dubbed Owen “one of the best finishers” he has ever seen, but the Englishman lasted only one year at Real Madrid, scoring 16 goals in 45 appearances across all competitions before he returned to England with Newcastle United.

Injuries ruined what could have been a hugely more successful career; he is known, alongside Gerrard, as one of the best talents England has produced.

And although he claims Zidane was the better player, French compatriot Adrien Rabiot prefers Gerrard, and Kostas Tsimikas also claims Gerrard was the better player.

How do Steven Gerrard and Zinedine Zidane compare?

Of course, if the pair were being compared by major honours, Zidane would comfortably lead Gerrard; the Frenchman was a part of the famous Galacticos, whereas Gerrard carried an underwhelming Liverpool side on his back for years.

However, the Scouser recorded 156 more goal contributions than Zidane across their respective careers, although their profiles differ; Gerrard contributed more at the business end of the pitch.

Zidane, like Owen, also had a history of injuries and made 243 fewer appearances in his career, which ended with his infamous sending off in the 2006 World Cup final.

Supporters, regardless of their club allegiance, love to compare players of the past, but Zidane and Gerrard are both legends of the game in their own right.

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