Highlights
- Michael Owen selected a Premier League XI consisting of legends like Peter Schmeichel and Rio Ferdinand.
- Owen praised his former teammate Steven Gerrard as a complete player with exceptional skills and a valuable presence on the field.
- Owen included Thierry Henry in his front three, dubbing him the 'greatest player in Premier League history'.
Michael Owen, alongside Ian Wright, picked his greatest Premier League XI ever. The former Liverpool, Newcastle and Manchester United striker was tasked with picking the best 11 players in the league's history and explained his selections.
Meanwhile, Wright - who admitted he decided against picking his own side - also gave his thoughts on Owen's selection and possible changes he would make. Interestingly, Owen didn't pick any current Premier League stars in his starting XI while Wayne Rooney had to make do with a place on the bench. So, without further ado, check out Owen's greatest XI in Premier League history - as well as his three subs.
Goalkeeper: Peter Schmeichel
"Peter Schmeichel for me. He backs it up with trophies. He was involved in the greatest team of that generation. He had presence, size, he was commanding. He drove that team forward. I think he's a standout."
Owen was extremely complimentary when speaking about Schmeichel. The Danish goalkeeper enjoyed great success at Manchester United, making 398 appearances and helping them to 15 trophies in his eight-year spell. Wright spoke highly of his former Arsenal teammate, David Seaman, but agreed with Owen that Schmeichel stands out above the rest.
"Only David Seaman and that's because I was with him on a daily basis and saw what he was capable of. But this guy [Schmciehel] is probably the number one. He was the only goalkeeper that was in my head before I got out on the pitch. I was so desperate to score against him and he was so desperate to save - he made some of the greatest saves ever against me. I only scored against him in a friendly in South Africa and in the Comminity Shield. He always says to me 'but you didn't score against me in a real competitive game.' He was so good. He made some amazing saves."
Defenders: Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Ashley Cole
Owen included two Man United legends [Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand], as well as two Chelsea legends [John Terry and Ashley Cole] in his side. Owen said Neville was 'underestimated', referred to Ferdinand as a 'Rolls Royce', dubbed Terry a 'great leader' and had no doubt in mind when picking Cole.
Wright agreed with all but one of Owen's selections; he would have included Tony Adams instead of Terry. Owen, meanwhile, revealed he was very close to selecting Liverpool star, Virgil van Dijk, but decided against it due to longevity purposes. He said:
"One other name that I had in my mind was Virgil van Dijk. I think he's the best defender in the world. I think he's, possibly, as a one-year the best defender I've ever seen. But he's not done it for long enough yet. He had a season out, a full season out not so long ago. He's been at Liverpool so long, they've only won one Premier League while he's been there. I feel those two players have done more in the Premier League than Van Dijk but I would have to give him a mention because I think he's off the scale how good he is."
Midfielders: Steven Gerrard, Patrick Vieira, Paul Scholes
Gerrard and Vieira were locks to make Owen's side, but he was unsure who to pick as the third midfielder. He toyed with the idea of Frank Lampard, Yaya Toure, Roy Keane and Kevin De Bruyne, but in the end he decided to include Paul Scholes, describing his former England and Man United teammate as a 'magician'.
Gerrard, regarded as one of Liverpool's greatest players, racked up 710 appearances for the club and scored 185 goals. An all-action midfielder, Gerrard helped Liverpool to nine trophies and was influential in their Champions League triumph in 2005 and their FA Cup victory a year later. Owen could not speak highly enough of Gerrard, who he played alongside for many, many years.
"The first name that went in, Steven Gerrard. He went in straight away. He had absolutely everything. He's too big, too strong, too fast, amazing in the air, amazing tackler, amazing shooter of the ball. Scored goals, assists, passing was perfection. What can't Steven Gerrard do? Big names, you want him next to you. Honestly, just the best."
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry
While Owen had a tough task of picking his midfield, he found it much easier to pick the three players that featured in his forward-line. On the right, he went with Cristiano Ronaldo, who he described as 'one of the greatest players ever'. The Portuguese forward enjoyed extraordinary success at Manchester United and is the highest goal scorer in football history.
Shearer, the Premier League's record goalscorer after hitting the back of the net 260 times, also features, with Owen describing him as a 'monster of a centre forward.' Owen selected him despite them not speaking to each other since their spat in 2019.
While on the left Owen picked who he thinks is the greatest player in the history of the Premier League: Thierry Henry. Henry enjoyed a remarkable scoring a total of 228 goals in 377 matches for the north London giants.
Substitutes: Yaya Toure, Wayne Rooney and Kevin De Bruyne
There can be no debating that Owen's XI is pretty special. But whenever fans are tasked with picking the greatest XI in Premier League, there will also be some absolute legends left out.
In goal, Petr Cech will feel hard done by to miss out while Wright also name-dropped David Seaman. Owen's back four is a common sight in 'greatest Premier League XIs' although Owen pushed hard for the inclusion of Van Dijk while Wright mentioned former teammate Adams. In a few years' time, perhaps Trent Alexander-Arnold or Kyle Walker will rival Neville.
Midfield is perhaps the toughest position of them all. Owen missed out Lampard, De Bruyne and Keane in favour of Gerrard, Vieira and Scholes. Explaining his decision to leave out De Bruyne and only put him on the bench, Owen said:
"It is so difficult leaving players out, that's why I would hate to be a manager. You've got to pick an XI at the end of the day and De Bruyne, yes he's great... another two or three years of doing what he's doing he probably squeezes in."
The likes of Rooney, Sergio Aguero, Didier Drogba, Dennis Bergkamp, Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane also missed out when it came to the front three but there can't be too many arguments over Ronaldo, Shearer and Henry, can there?