Former
England striker Michael Owen is to retire from football at the end of the
season.
Owen, 33, who scored
40 goals in 89 internationals, played for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle
United and Manchester United and is now at Stoke.
He said: "It is
with an immense amount of pride that I am announcing my intention to retire.
Michael Owen's career
"I have been
very fortunate in that my career has taken me on a journey I could only have
dreamed of."
Owen burst on to the
scene as a teenager at Liverpool and made England's 1998 World Cup squad aged
just 18. He announced himself on the world stage with a memorable solo goal
against Argentina in that tournament and scored a hat-trick as England beat
Germany 5-1 in Munich in September 2001.
He has scored 220
goals in his club career, winning the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup (three
times) and Uefa Cup. Owen was named European Footballer of the Year in 2001 -
the first Englishman to achieve the accolade since Kevin Keegan in 1979.
Owen joined Stoke
City at the start of the season and has scored one goal in seven appearances.
"Having
progressed through the ranks at Liverpool to make my first-team debut at 17,
before embarking upon spells at Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester
United and Stoke City, not to mention representing my country on 89 occasions,
I now feel it is the right time to bring the curtain down on my career," Owen wrote in a statement on his
website.
"None of this
would have been possible without the tremendous support I have received from
managers, coaches, fellow players, backroom staff, the supporters and my own
personal sponsors. I would like to thank each and every one for the huge role
they have played in helping me reach the top of my profession. "Most of
all, though, I would like to thank my family. To my beautiful wife Louise, for
her continued love and support through the many ups and downs in my career and
for affording me the most precious gift of all, our children.
"To my mum who
has always taken the brunt of my frustrations yet continues to keep our family
so tight-knit, a trait that has formed the foundations of my own success. Her
dedication to me and my brothers and sisters is immeasurable.
"Last but not
least, my dad. We did it my old mate! From those freezing local parks to
terrorising the best defenders in the world on the biggest stages of all. I
couldn't have done it without you."
Chester-born Owen
helped Liverpool to a treble of trophies in 2001 as they won the League Cup, FA
Cup and Uefa Cup to end a six-year trophy drought. In that FA Cup win, he
memorably scored two late goals to help Liverpool come from behind to beat
Arsenal 2-1.
In total, Owen scored
158 goals in 297 appearances for the Anfield club before moving to Real
Madrid for £8m in 2004, where he was part of the "Galacticos",
including Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos and Raul.
Despite 14 goals in
40 games, he returned to the Premier League with
Newcastle United for a reported £16m in August 2005.
However, after eight
consecutive seasons of hitting double figures in goals, he would only reach
that mark again twice in the next eight years.
International
pedigree
Owen remains the only
Englishman to have scored in four major tournaments and is fourth on the
all-time goalscoring list behind Sir Bobby Charlton, Gary Lineker and Jimmy
Greaves
Injuries took their
toll. Owen suffered a broken metatarsal in December 2005. Despite returning to
fitness in time for the 2006 World Cup, he damaged the anterior cruciate
ligament in his right knee in the first minute of the group match against
Sweden, and was out of action for almost a year.
Owen played fewer
than 10 more times for his country after that tournament, with his last
appearance for England coming against
France in 2008.
After four
injury-blighted years at St James' Park, in which he still managed to score 30
goals in 79 appearances, the club were relegated from the Premier League. He
later signed
for Manchester United on a free transfer in 2009.
Owen initially
impressed at Old Trafford, scoring the injury-time winner in the dramatic 4-3
derby victory over Manchester City with
the match since being voted the best in Premier League history.
He signed an
extension to his original contract after winning the Premier League title in
2010-11 while Owen was an unused substitute in United's Champions League final
defeat by Barcelona that year.
But his injury
problems resurfaced, limiting his first-team chances and leading to his release
from the club and subsequent move to Stoke.
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