I could have replaced Ronaldo but told my agent I didn't want Liverpool exit
If asked to pick Michael Owen’s career highlight, one of two memories are likely to spring to mind for your everyday football fan.
Firstly, his career-defining solo goal for England against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup which transformed the then-teenage forward into a global star overnight. But if not that strike, you are likely to instead opt for his hat-trick when the Three Lions ran out 5-1 winners away at Germany in September 2001.
A few months after that treble, the striker would become the first English winner of the Ballon d’Or since former Reds striker Kevin Keegan in 1979. Now 22 years on, and none of his compatriots have been able to follow in his footsteps.
Yet it wasn’t his international exploits that earned him such a prize. Rather, it was his performances for Liverpool in the most iconic campaign of his career as the Reds clinched an unprecedented cup treble in the 2000/01 season.
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Gerard Houllier’s leading striker, Owen would score 24 goals from 46 appearances that season as Liverpool won the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup, while also qualifying for the Champions League for the first time. Meanwhile, his club record in 2001 alone saw him return 31 goals from 49 games, and lift five different trophies.
However, he might not have achieved any of that if Inter Milan had had their way, with the former Reds striker admitting he came close to joining the Serie A side in 2000.
“I came close to joining Inter Milan around the turn of the century, they came in for me,” he recently told DAZN Bet. “But I was happy at Liverpool at the time and didn’t
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