Football players will always divide opinion among supporters. And when it comes to Liverpool, there is arguably no-one in their relatively recent history that does that more than Michael Owen.
Coming through the club’s academy alongside the likes of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, Owen quickly became one of the most talented strikers in world football. A little over four years after making his debut as a 17-year-old, he would win the Ballon d’Or to cement his place as the world’s best.
Given Owen’s talent and his affection for Liverpool, it would have been thought that he would stay at the club for close to the full length of his playing career. On this day in 2004, though, that idea was officially put to bed.
