Michael Owen was a fantastic footballer in his pomp.While the Englishman's punditry in the present day is often questionable, it must not be forgotten just how good of a player he was.In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Owen was one of the most feared strikers in world football.As a youngster at Liverpool, he had defenders quivering in fear with his pace and clinical finishing.Owen scored 157 goals in 296 games for the Reds and even scooped the coveted Ballon d'Or award in 2001 while on the team's payroll.The 42-year-old also thrived on the international stage, bagging 40 goals in 89 appearances for England - including a memorable hat-trick against Germany in a World Cup qualifier.Yeah, Owen's playing career was pretty darn good, especially when you remember he enjoyed a successful year at Real Madrid too.
MADRID, SPAIN - OCTOBER 23: Michael Owen of Real Madrid celebrates his goal during the La Liga match between Real Madrid v Valencia at the Bernabau stadium on October 23, 2004 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)When you have the honour of representing Los Blancos, England, Liverpool and Manchester United, you're going to be able to name a stellar XI made up of former teammates.And that's exactly what Owen did back in 2017.He was asked to name the best XI of footballers he's played alongside during a feed show with Steve Bower.Owen also named the greatest XI of players he played against.Needless to say, both teams are god-tier level...
Owen's XIs
Best XI he's played with: Edwin van der Sar, Sami Hyypia, Rio Ferdinand, Jamie Carragher, Roberto Carlos, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard, Zinedine Zidane, Wayne Rooney and Ronaldo Nazario.
Subs: Nemanja Vidic, Luis Figo, Paul Gascoigne and John Barnes.
When Figo and 'Gazza' are only good enough for a place on the bench, you know the XI is special, very special.
CHICAGO - JULY 16: (L-R) Michael Owen #11, David Beckham #23 and Ronaldo #9 of Real Madrid pose for a photo with five young girls before a friendly match against Chivas De Guadalajara on July 16, 2005 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Real Madrid defeated Chivas De Guadalajara 3-1. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Best XI he's played against: Peter Schmeichel, Cafu, Marcel Desailly, Jaap Stam, Paolo Maldini, Cristiano Ronaldo, Patrick Vieira, Frank Lampard, Ryan Giggs, Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry.
Subs: Roy Keane, Gianluigi Buffon, Raul, Rivaldo and Francesco Totti.
If it was possible to have a match between those two teams with all the players involved in their primes, it would be sporting entertainment of the highest order.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 12: FIFA Ballon d'Or nominees Lionel Messi of Argentina and FC Barcelona (L) and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Real Madrid smile during the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala 2014 at the Kongresshaus on January 12, 2015 in Zurich, Switzerland. (Photo by Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images)
It's hard to decide which XI is the superior of the two.
The fact both Messi and Ronaldo, arguably the two greatest footballers in history, feature in the latter suggests it probably has the slight edge.
But a midfield of Scholes, Gerrard and Zidane behind a Rooney and 'El Fenomeno' strike force?!
Yeah, that's outrageous, so we're going to call it a score draw.