Steven Gerrard ranks Michael Owen higher than Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal as teenagers thanks to Ballon d'Or win

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has said former team-mate Michael Owen was better than Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal when comparing their levels as teenagers. Owen scored on his Liverpool debut at the age of 17 and scored 40 Premier League goals before turning 20, but Gerrard suggests his Ballon d'Or win gives him the edge over Mbappe and Yamal, who have been nominated for this year's award.

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Steven Gerrard believes Michael Owen was a better player than Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe when comparing the three players' levels as teenagers.

Yamal and Mbappe were both nominated for the Ballon d’Or on Thursday, with the Frenchman still after a maiden win despite this being his eighth nomination, while Yamal is hoping to become the youngest-ever winner of the award, aged just 18.

Owen won the prestigious prize in 2001 and Gerrard has suggested that it gives his former Liverpool and England team-mate the edge over Yamal and Mbappe, when comparing their talent levels as teenagers.

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The ex-Reds captain 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.

"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."

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Gerrard and Owen shared the dressing room at Anfield for six years before the latter joined Real Madrid in 2004.

Owen had become the first English player to win the Ballon d’Or since Kevin Keegan in 1979 as he claimed the award at the age of 22.

He picked up the prize after helping Liverpool to UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup success during the 2000/01 campaign, while scoring 18 Premier League goals that season and 31 goals in all competitions throughout the calendar year.

The former England man made his debut for The Reds aged just 17 in 1997, scoring against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park.

His 40 goals as a teenager are a Premier League record, and he also holds the title of the most goals by a teenager in a calendar year in the competition, after scoring 25 times in 1998.

Michael Owen

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Yamal, meanwhile, who only turned 18 in July, has scored 25 goals and registered 34 assists in all competitions for Barcelona since his debut at the age of 15.

The Spain international had 43 goal involvements across the 2024/25 campaign as the Catalan side claimed the domestic treble.

The winger claimed Young Player of the Tournament at UEFA Euro 2024 last summer after scoring once and making four assists as Spain lifted the trophy.

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Like Owen and Yamal, Mbappe was also prolific as a teenager, scoring 28 goals in all competitions in the 2016/17 campaign, the season he turned 18, earning himself a move to Paris Saint-Germain.

He registered 38 goal involvements for the Ligue 1 side during the subsequent season before inspiring France to FIFA World Cup glory that summer, becoming the youngest scorer in a final of the tournament since Pele.

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Thoughts?