Michael Owen: A career in pictures
- Published
Michael Owen first bursts onto the scene in Liverpool's youth team winning the FA Youth Cup in May 1996. He later signs professional terms with them on his 17th birthday.
Owen makes his Liverpool debut in May 1997 and the following season, his first full season, finishes joint-top scorer in the Premier League with 18 goals.
The pacy teenager's goalscoring record quickly sees him promoted from England Under-21 squad to the full squad and he makes his full England debut in February 1998, a 2-0 defeat by Chile at Wembley Stadium.
Owen is named in Glenn Hoddle's final squad for the 1998 World Cup in France, where a blistering goal against Argentina announces the young forward's arrival on the world stage.
An impressive first campaign sees Owen named Player of the Season for 1997 and he receives the award at the start of the 1998 season.
And the awards keep coming for the Liverpool striker, who is named BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1998.
Michael Owen takes the plaudits after scoring both goals in Liverpool's 2-1 win over Arsenal in the 2001 FA Cup final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
Owen leaves Liverpool for Real Madrid in 2004, where he is greeted by honorary president and legendary striker Alfredo di Stefano.
Owen joins the famous 'Galacticos' side that includes the likes of England team-mate David Beckham (centre) and French superstar Zinedine Zidane (right).
Owen finds himself used mainly as a substitute for a team that contains so many talents but continues to find the net regularly and boasts the best goals-to-minutes played ratio in La Liga.
But Owen's stay in Spain lasts just one season before he is captured by Newcastle in a £16m deal that delights the Toon faithful, who turned out in their numbers to welcome his signing in August 2005.
Newcastle fans are hoping for great things from a new strikeforce featuring the talents of Owen and his England team-mate Alan Shearer.
But Owen's time at St James' Park is beset by the injury problems that hampered his career. He makes just 79 appearances for the club in four seasons - although he still manages 30 goals.
Owen also suffers a serious knee injury in the first minute of England's draw with Sweden in the 2006 World Cup. He would make fewer than 10 further appearances with his last cap coming against France in 2008. In all, Owen wins 89 caps, scoring 40 goals.
He signs for Manchester United in 2009 with his most memorable moment coming when he came off the bench to score an injury-time winner in a 4-3 victory over Manchester City.
Owen struggles with injuries while at United and spends much of his time on the bench and announces on Twitter in May 2012 that he had not been offered a new deal at Old Trafford.
Owen signs for Stoke in September 2012 but finds first-team opportunities limited, scoring just once in seven appearances before announcing on 19 March he will retire from football at the end of the season.