Michael Owen has shut down any debate that Wayne Rooney was better than him at 17 years old with some cold, hard evidence.<\/p>\n
The debate was opened on Friday morning and completely shut down around 11 hours later by one of the players himself.<\/p>\n
The BBC Match of the Day account posted on X, asking: \u2018Who was the better player at the age of 17, Michael Owen<\/strong><\/a> or Wayne Rooney?\u2019 And Owen responded with nothing but facts.<\/p>\n Because it\u2019s Owen, an immediate reaction was that his reply reeks of insecurity, but it\u2019s hard to argue with what he said.<\/p>\n In fact, he may have even won over some younger football fans who weren\u2019t aware of just how good he was, especially in his Liverpool<\/strong><\/a> days.<\/p>\n Fighting his own corner because nobody else will, Owen responded<\/a>:<\/p>\n At 17 I scored 18 PL goals (winning the Golden Boot), Wazza scored 6. At 18 I again scored 18 goals (again winning the Golden Boot and coming 4th in The Ballon d\u2019Or), Wazza scored 9. In our opening 7 seasons, Wazza didn\u2019t outscore me once (117 goals v 80). In which time I became the 2nd youngest Ballon d\u2019Or winner ever. Injuries hindered me from then on while he sustained his level. Therefore, he\u2019ll go down as a better player than me. But, at 17, please\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Yep. Okay. Fair enough, mate. And he even admitted that Rooney will go down as a better player because injuries absolutely f***ed his career.<\/p>\n There is one small argument you could make against Owen, and that\u2019s that Rooney<\/strong><\/a> was a more complete footballer, even at that age.<\/p>\n Known for his ability to do everything, on top of his ox-like strength at a young age, Rooney was an all-round striker, while Owen was more about pace and his world-class finishing.<\/p>\n Consecutive Golden Boot-winning campaigns at 17 and 18 is an absolutely ridiculous record. That\u2019s 36 goals in 66 Premier League matches, for what it\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n Transfermarkt also tells us he registered 12 assists in 1997\/98, when he was 17. In total, he scored 150 Premier League goals in 326 appearances.<\/p>\n The problem with Owen has never been about his ability as a footballer, but his character.<\/p>\n From bullying a 13-year-old goalkeeper to hating movies, he\u2019s quite an odd man. And that will always make a very solid argument like this come off as a little insecure.<\/p>\n You just don\u2019t expect the player in question to fight his own corner. Maybe if it were someone else, everyone might\u2019 have decided that his X post was a breath of fresh air and in no way desperate.<\/p>\n There is clearly a burning desire within Owen to be liked and appreciated as an ex-footballer. Unfortunately, he won\u2019t be remembered fondly in a long line of Real Madrid strikers, while he screwed his Liverpool legacy by later signing for Manchester United (thanks to a brochure)<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n As for Newcastle United, their fans really don\u2019t like him. He was signed on a huge wage for a club-record fee but failed to make an impact<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n He was captain when the Magpies got relegated in 2009 and a perceived lack of fight did not go down well.<\/p>\n And to make matters worse, he admitted in his autobiography that he regretted joining Newcastle from Madrid.<\/p>\n So yes, he was a world-class player, but unfortunately for him he won\u2019t be remembered as a legend at any of the clubs he played for.<\/p>\n\n