Michael Owen Feels His 2001 Ballon d’Or Win Was Underappreciated
Michael Owen believes his 2001 Ballon d’Or success has not received the recognition it might have commanded elsewhere, despite the former Liverpool forward winning the game’s leading individual award at only 22.
Owen had stood as England’s most recent winner until Harry Kane claimed the prize on Monday. Kane’s victory ends a distinction that had remained with Owen for more than two decades.
Owen’s 2001 triumph
- Owen’s award followed Liverpool’s 2000-01 cup treble, with the club lifting the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup.
- He finished ahead of an elite field that included Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Raúl, Rivaldo, David Beckham and Luís Figo.
- The striker remains Liverpool’s only Ballon d’Or winner to have collected the honour while registered as a Liverpool player.
Reflecting on the award, Owen said he felt the achievement had been treated differently in England from how it was viewed during his time in Spain.
“I don’t think I receive the credit that others might for winning the Ballon d’Or,” he said. “It was never regarded as being quite so significant in this country. In Spain, people viewed me as a hero for it, and I am hugely proud of it.”
A result Owen still keeps
Owen said he retains a photograph of the final points list on his phone, including the players who occupied the positions behind him. Looking back at the names involved, he described the scale of the result as striking.
He added that his childhood ambition had extended beyond becoming a professional footballer: he wanted to be regarded as the best. At 22, however, he saw the Ballon d’Or largely as the next trophy to pursue again rather than an achievement to pause and appreciate.
In Owen’s view, the award has gained greater prominence since his win, particularly through the prolonged individual rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi across the late 2000s and 2010s. Their repeated contests for the prize turned the Ballon d’Or into one of football’s most closely watched annual debates.
