English soccer great Michael Owen does not hesitate when you ask him to nominate the best he played with. Ever.

“Zinedine Zidane,” Owen replies.

“I played with the Brazilian Ronaldo, and his first four or five years on the professional scene were something the world had ever seen – and I include Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo in that.

“But Zidane was like watching a ballerina [with his footwork]. He was an absolute freak.”

What about the toughest player?

“Stephen Gerrard,” Owen says.

Michael Owen (right) and trainer Hugo Palmer will have around 150 horses in work at Manor House Stables next year.

Funniest teammate?

“Jamie Carragher was my roommate, I would have said him, then Wayne Rooney came along – he was a character who everyone loved playing with; Wayne had a great sense of hum

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