- Fowler was a key figure at the time that Owen burst onto the scene in the 1990s
- He left Liverpool originally in 2001 – the same year Owen won the Ballon d’Or
- Liverpool will be regretful if they don’t put Arsenal away at home after failing to beat Man United – Listen to It’s All Kicking Off
Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler has claimed that he was better than Michael Owen in ‘every aspect of being a striker’.
The pair are two of Liverpool’s greatest scorers of the Premier League era, and played together for a number of years in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Fowler was a key figure at Anfield by the time Owen exploded onto the scene, and as team-mates they played alongside each other for four full seasons before the former signed for Leeds in 2001.
Though Fowler scored more Premier League goals for the Reds than Owen, the latter won the Ballon d’Or in 2001 and also enjoyed more success with England.
Speaking on William Hill‘s podcast, Up Front with Simon Jordan, Fowler said: ‘In all honesty, I’ve always thought I was better than Michael Owen. He was quicker than me, but in every other element of being a striker, I genuinely think I was better than him. He could say the exact opposite but that is just my opinion and my self-confidence – I was better in every aspect of being a striker.
Robbie Fowler insists he was better than Michael Owen ‘in every aspect of being a striker’
Fowler and Owen are two of Liverpool’s best scorers of the Premier League era
Fowler is more revered by Liverpool fans but Owen took the international exploits
‘Michael wasn’t the best player at Liverpool when I played, but I remember him coming through at the club and you could see that he was different class.
‘At the time I was upset not to be playing as much as him for England, but I didn’t want Michael to fail or play badly.
‘Of course, I wanted to play, but I didn’t want him to not succeed. I think Michael just thought more of England than he did of his club, whereas I thought more of Liverpool than England.’
During their four seasons together, Fowler scored 51 goals in all competitions, while Owen netted 72.
However, Fowler scored 183 goals in 369 appearances across his two spells at the club while Owen scored 158 in 297. Fowler scored at a rate of 0.50 goals every match, compared to Owen’s 0.53.
Owen never netted more than 19 Premier League goals in a season or 28 in all competitions.
Fowler’s best was in 1995-96 where he scored 28 goals in the league and 36 across all competitions.
They have a similar trophy haul due to Liverpool’s struggles during that time period.
Both players were there during their Treble winning 2000-01 season where they won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup. Fowler won a further League Cup before Owen arrived, while the latter won the same trophy after Fowler’s exit.
Fowler insists Owen ‘thought more of England than he did of his club’, whereas he ‘thought more of Liverpool than England’
Fowler scored more goals for Liverpool, yet Owen won two Golden Boot awards to his none
Owen was seen as one of England’s best players at the time scoring 40 goals in 89 appearances. His goal against Argentina at France 98 led to him receiving the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award, while he scored a famous hat-trick in a 5-1 win over Germany.
Fowler meanwhile netted seven goals in 26 appearances. However his prime years came at a time when the likes of Alan Shearer, Andy Cole and Teddy Sheringham were also in their prime.
Liverpool fans would unanimously give the vote to Fowler who they kindly refer him to as ‘God’.
While their relationship with Owen soured after his 2004 move to Real Madrid, before later joining their biggest rivals Manchester United where he won the Premier League title.
