LIVERPOOL legend Steven Gerrard believes ‘incredible’ Michael Owen was better then BOTH Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe as a teenager.
Michael Owen burst onto the scene aged 17 before famously winning the Ballon d’Or whilst at Liverpool in 2001.
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He scored 18 goals in his first full season in the Premier League, sharing the golden boot with Chris Sutton and Dion Dublin while also sweeping up the PFA Young Player of the Year Award.
The ex-Liverpool striker still holds the title of the most goals scored by a teenager in Premier League history as he incredibly netted 40 in 79 matches before turning 20 in 1999.
Owen joined Real Madrid for £8 million in 2004, cutting short his eight year stay in Merseyside.
Although he enjoyed a decent campaign with Los Blancos, he quickly returned to England with Newcastle United, injuries curtailing a promising career.
Owen still managed to score 40 England goals but never hit the heights of his early potential.
And Gerrard believes that his early Ballon d’Or win – just days after his 22nd birthday – gives the Owen the edge over present day superstars Mbappe and Yamal, although both players have been nominated for the award this year.
He told ESPN: “Well, the other two are chasing the Ballon d’Or and one’s got one.
“So I think you’d have to respect the fact that Michael Owen has been voted the best player in the world.
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“I played with him. He was an incredible teenager. So I’d have to say Michael Owen [as the best].
“But what I would say is: Mbappe and Lamine Yamal, wow, they’re two incredible players.”
Barcelona’s 18-year-old wonderkid Yamal is among the favourites for this years prize, which would make him the youngest-ever winner of the award.
The Spanish youngster was a sensation in Catalonia last season, firing on all cylinders and racking up 43 goal involvements in a campaign where his side won the domestic treble.
Yamal caught the eye of the entire world in the summer of 2024 as the then 16-year-old helped his country to win the Euros in Germany.
As well as winning the competition as a whole, the winger was named Young Player of the Tournament as he racked up the most assists and scored an unbelievable goal in the semi-final against France.
I think you’d have to respect the fact that Michael Owen has been voted the best player in the world.
Steven Gerrard
Mbappe, 26, has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or on EIGHT occasions in his career, becoming the youngest player to ever be nominated in 2017 at 17 years old.
However, he is still to win the trophy, having been beaten by the likes of Rodri and Lionel Messi in recent years.
His initial nomination came off the back of a superb season at AS Monaco where he helped the French side win their first league title in 17 years.
They also got to the semi-finals of the Champions League with Mbappe scoring 28 goals and assisting 16 in all competitions.
The Frenchman would follow this up with another incredible year as a teenager after earning a move to French giants PSG for €180 million – the highest fee ever paid for a teenager.
France won the World Cup in the summer of 2018 with Mbappe, then 19, netting four along the way and scoring in the final.
