FORMER England striker Michael Owen has announced he will retire from football at the end of the season.
The 33-year-old made his name with Liverpool and went on to play for Real Madrid, Newcastle and Manchester United before signing for Stoke at the start of this season.
But Owen, who has been dogged by injury in the latter stages of his career, has found opportunities very difficult to come by at the Britannia Stadium and has made the decision to hang up his boots.
The striker wrote on his personal website: “It is with an immense amount of pride that I am announcing my intention to retire from professional football at the end of this season.”
The striker will probably be best remembered for his exploits with England, for whom he burst onto the international scene as an 18-year-old and scored his most famous goal against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup.
He ended up with 40 goals from 89 caps, behind only Bobby Charlton, Gary Lineker and Jimmy Greaves on the all-time list.
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Michael Owen's first senior goal for LFC comes in the 2-1 defeat at Wimbledon in May 1997 that confirmed the end of Roy Evans' side's title hopes
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His first senior start came against the same opponents on the opening day of the 1997/98 season & saw him slot home a penalty equaliser as LFC grabbed a 1-1 draw
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Owen displays his deadly eye for goal when giving LFC an early lead against Celtic at Parkhead in a Sept 1997 UEFA Cup tie
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After finally grabbing his first senior goal at Anfield against Spurs in November, Owen gets his first LFC hat-trick against Grimsby Town in a Nov 1997 League Cup tie
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Owen grabs his first league hat-trick at Hillsborough in February 1998 to help LFC snatch a 3-3 draw
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Owen's first visit to Old Trafford is a memorable one as he first nips in to poach an equaliser, costing Man Utd vital points in their title battle with Arsenal...
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.. before being sent off before half time for a lunge on Ronnie Jonsen
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23 goals in his first full Premier League season is enough to win a place in Glenn Hoddle's England squad for the World Cup in France and he comes off the bench to grab a crucial equaliser against Romania in the group stages
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Owen starts England's knock-out clash with Argentina and, after winning the penalty to bring England level, scores an astonishing solo goal to give his side the lead before their eventual penalty shoot-out defeat
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Owen continues his electric form when the new season starts, scoring a first-half hat-trick as LFC demolish Newcastle and new manager Ruud Gullit's 'sexy football' 4-1
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Owen bags four more at Anfield as Nottingham Forest are hammered 5-1 in October 1998
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Double delight for Owen and strike partner Karl-Heinz Riedle as they each bag a brace in the last 20 minutes as LFC overturn a two-goal deficit against Newcastle, Christmas 1998
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A hamstring injury at Leeds United in April 1999 ends Owen's season and became an occasional problem for lightning-quick frontman
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Emile Heskey arrived from Leicester City in March 2000 and struck up an effective striking partnership with Owen
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A hat-trick against Aston Villa in September 2000 gets the most trophy-laden year of Owen's career up and running
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Two goals in the Stadio Olimpico beats Italian champions-elect AS Roma and sets LFC on track for the UEFA Cup quarter-finals - ten days later Owen gets the first medal of his career after a substitute appearance in the League Cup final win against Birmingham
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With LFC seven minutes from toothless defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup Final, Owen pounces to fire home a clinical equaliser and give the Reds fresh hope
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Two minutes from time, Owen races onto Patrik Berger's through ball and races past Lee Dixon & Tony Adams before planting a sensational winner beyond David Seaman
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Four days later, Owen has a hand in two of the goals as LFC lifted the UEFA Cup with a 5-4 Golden Goal victory over Alaves in Dortmund
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A goal on the final day at Charlton is Owen's 24th of the campaign and helps secure LFC's first appearance in the Champions League
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Owen carries on where he left off with a goal in the 2001 Charity Shield win over Manchester United in Cardiff
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Striking duo Owen and Heskey both find the net as LFC lift their fifth trophy of 2001 by beating Bayern Munich in the Super Cup final in Monaco
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Owen nets a hat-trick in England's 5-1 World Cup qualifying win against Germany in Munich, with team-mates Steven Gerrard & Emile Heskey providing the other goals
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A penalty at the Gwladys Street end gives boyhood Evertonian his first goal in a Merseyside derby as LFC win 3-1 at Goodison in September 2001
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Owen leaps to head home his second and LFC's third as champions Man Utd are beaten at Anfield in November 2001
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Owen races clear to give LFC the lead and send the Kop wild in a Champions League tie against Barcelona later that same month
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A last-minute strike at Upton Park rescues a point for caretaker manager Phil Thompson's side and also brings Owen his 100th LFC goal
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Owen's incredible form brings him the coveted European Footballer of the Year Ballon d'Or award, which he receives at Anfield before scoring against Derby County in April 2002
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Even half-fit, Owen manages to give England the lead against eventual winners Brazil in the World Cup quarter-final
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A relatively lean spell at the start of the 2002/03 season (only one goal by the end of September) is ended with a hat-trick at Manchester City
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Owen grabs another treble in a 5-0 Champions League win at Spartak Moscow
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Owen seals another League Cup Final triumph with a goal against Manchester United in Cardiff in 2003
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Celebrating with Steven Gerrard after rifling home the opener in a 2-1 win at Goodison, April 2003
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Owen fires home as he bags four in a Hawthorns hammering for West Brom
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Another strike at the Gwladys Street end puts LFC on the way to a 3-0 Mersey derby triumph, August 2003
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A clinical finish at Highbury puts LFC in front against undefeated Arsenal but the champions-elect fight back to win, April 2004
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Owen's final goal for Liverpool is the equaliser in a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United, 15 May 2004
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Owen signed for Real Madrid for £8m the day before the 2004/05 season started and scored 13 times in 36 games during his 12 months in Spain, including one in a win over Barcelona
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Despite rumoured interest from Rafa Benitez, Owen signed for Newcastle United in August 2005 for £16.8m
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He returned to Anfield as an opposition player for the first time on Boxing Day 2005 as Newcastle were beaten 2-0
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When his Newcastle contract expired in the summer of 2009, he signed for Manchester United as a free agent and scored 17 goals in 54 games before being released in the summer of 2012
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Owen has in recent years become involved in the horse racing scene, being pictured here with his horse Treble Heights and jockey John Carroll
In the statement on his website, Owen continued: “Having progressed through the ranks at Liverpool to make my first-team debut at 17, before embarking upon spells at Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, not to mention representing my country on 89 occasions, I now feel it is the right time to bring the curtain down on my career.
“I have been very fortunate in that my career has taken me on a journey that, like many young players starting out, I could only have dreamt of.
“None of this would have been possible without the tremendous support I have received from managers, coaches, fellow players, back-room staff, the supporters and my own personal sponsors.
“I would like to thank each and every one for the huge role they have played in helping me reach the top of my profession.”
Owen went on to thank his family, ending with a message to his father Terry, a former professional footballer with Everton and Chester.
He said: “We did it my old mate! From those freezing local parks to terrorising the best defenders in the world on the biggest stages of all. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
