‘There’s a devil in Michael Owen’ – Gerrard on side of Liverpool ace that won him Ballon d’Or

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The debate over who is better, Michael Owen or Wayne Rooney, has gripped the footballing world lately, and Steven Gerrard has now spoken about his former Liverpool teammate.

Gerrard is one of the few players who has worked closely with both strikers due to his career at Liverpool and England, getting to experience them both up close.

He played for the Reds when Owen was at the top of his game, delivering the best performances of his career. That allowed the midfielder to have a great understanding of what he was capable of.

While fans are aware of the goals Owen scored and his Ballon d’Or-winning career, Gerrard has now revealed details about what the striker was really like to play with.

Steven Gerrard believes Michael Owen ‘doesn’t get enough credit’

Owen is often seen as a smaller, timid player compared to Rooney due to the aggression and temper the former Manchester United striker showcased on the pitch.

However, that doesn’t mean that Owen didn’t have that spirit in him as well. Gerrard explained to Rio Ferdinand Presents that Owen could be just as nasty on the pitch when he needed to be.

“I think in Michael’s case, he doesn’t get enough credit. Especially in the period where he touches on a lot from 17 to 23, before he got the big hamstring injury, he was as good as anyone in terms of being a striker.

“The thing that people maybe don’t know about Michael is they see this little small centre forward who’s this, you know, pretty boy, family man, blah blah blah. He was an animal. Yeah. He was a nasty piece of work.

“I used to back him up a lot, and he used to back me up a lot. We were a pair of devils on the pitch, if you like. Little stuff, he was the first press, and I was right in behind him.

“But we were two tenacious, competitive, small footballers coming through, because we were both small, but we had this mentality where we didn’t like to get beat.

“That’s the bit that got Michael the Ballon d’Or, in my opinion. Not just the goals and the speed, it was the hunger and the devil in him. There’s a devil in Michael Owen from a football point of view.”

How do Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney compare?

Rooney and Owen have both backed themselves when it comes to who was the better striker, particularly when it comes to the early stages of their careers.

While Owen would go on to suffer injuries that derailed him, he was a prolific goalscorer who knew where the back of the net was, which he proved at some of the biggest clubs in the world.

Meanwhile, Rooney was tenacious. He was also a fantastic goalscorer, but he added more to his game by playing in various positions to contribute more to the team’s performance.

Rooney won the Champions League, which escaped Owen throughout his career. Plus he also won five Premier League titles compared to Owen’s one, which he won alongside Rooney at Man United in the 2010-11 season.

Regardless of who fans believe was best, they will both go down as two of England’s greatest ever strikers, significantly impacting the game.