Michael Owen interview: Being called David Brent is the biggest compliment

Chris BascombeSat, September 5, 2026 at 7:01 AM UTC

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Michael Owen says he is ‘more content’ now than during his playing days - Fredrik Persson/Shutterstock

“It’s the greatest compliment I’ve ever been given,” Michael Owen says, embracing what he considers a perfect comparison.

You might imagine he is again being referenced alongside the most feared England strikers of our lifetime such as Gary Lineker, Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane.

Not so.

“David Brent, or Ricky Gervais, is literally my hero. I absolutely adore The Office,” Owen says, taking ownership of barbs from his wife, Louise, and summaries of certain mannerisms in his fly-on-the-wall documentary.

“I hardly watch any TV, but the one thing I do watch is The Office on repeat. It is the work of an absolute genius. I’ve never met Ricky Gervais but I’d love to. That is exactly my type of humour.”

The “Brentisms” flow in Meet the Owens, which debuted on Prime Video last week, from eulogising Dairylea on toast, denouncing the inclusion of olive jars in Christmas Hampers, and spelling Ballon d’Or wrong when naming a horse in honour of him winning football’s ultimate individual honour in 2001.

Owen’s journey from teenage superstar to reality TV regular – he breezily acknowledges there were not enough sofas behind which to hide when watching his stint as “Doughnuts” in The Masked Singer – is one of football’s more unexpected career-twists.

The motivation for allowing cameras a year’s access to him and his family was chiefly to champion his Manor House Stables, to keep attracting the celebrity horse-owners who have turned Royal Ascot into Owen’s new Wembley. His daughter Gemma is training as a jockey.

Gemma Owen finished fourth in the Magnolia Cup at Goodwood in July - PA/Matt Alexander Media Assignments

“People just thought I owned a few horses. I think they realise now how serious the business is,” he says, listing the VIP client list. “We’ve around 11 Brighton players involved with four horses between them, all really successful.

“That’s the James Milner influence. When he was at Liverpool he’d come here with Trent [Alexander-Arnold], Jordan Henderson, Andy Robertson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Steve McManaman, Ian Wright, Paul Scholes, Anthony Gordon and Owen Hargreaves own horses. We’ve the darts lads, Luke Littler and Stephen Bunting, and Kyren Wilson, a snooker world champion, loves it too. And there’s Sir Alex [Ferguson]. Everyone knows how much he loves horse racing.”

“That’s why he signed you for Manchester United, really, isn’t it? For the betting tips,” it is cheekily suggested.

He laughs.

“Sir Alex calls me most Saturday mornings,” Owen says. “We’ll be talking about the horses, then it will develop into what’s going on with the football, and before you know it you’ve been talking for an hour. It’s pretty cool to have that kind of relationship with him.”

Owen played under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United from 2009-2012 - Getty Images/Franck Fife

Does he anticipate a glowing review from his ex-manager? “I’ve not heard from him since the show went out, so I’m guessing he hasn’t seen it yet.”

Some have billed the six-episode series as Cheshire’s version of The Kardashians. There is no such ghastly superficiality. As episodes pass, the reassuring normality of a fundamentally decent family, which struck gold via Owen’s prodigious goalscoring talent, proves most endearing.

A scene where Owen describes achieving his ambition to buy an entire street for his parents and siblings – “except for the house at the end which is owned by some bloke called Dave” – is charmingly funny.

Humanity cuts through the dad jokes, most notably as Owen’s son, James, deals with a rare, degenerative condition making him clinically blind. Only the meanest spirits could fail to be moved.

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Those who have known Owen since his senior debut at 17 can testify to his eagerness to sketch a new portrait rather than accept the one others framed.

“My introduction to the world was scoring against Argentina in the same game David Beckham was sent off. After that, it was Michael Owen the 18-year-old angel and David Beckham the villain. People built an image around that,” he says.

Owen announced himself on the global stage with a solo goal against Argentina in 1998, a match in which David Beckham saw red - Reuters/Pawel Kopczynski

“It was all about branding, in a way, while I was only interested in getting on with my football. There was a time when any interview I did had to play up to that image. That’s where all the stuff about being miserable and boring started. People would have had you believe I never had a sip of alcohol. I was never whiter than white in that sense.

“I’ve lived with that perception for nearly 30 years. It’s never particularly bothered me because from being a footballer I developed a thick skin since my debut. But I’m happier for people to get a sense of who I really am.”

Horse racing has brought a prolonged fulfilment that eluded him in his football career.

“Football gave me the ultimate high which I can’t replicate. But I can honestly say I’m more content now than I was at my peak as a player,” he admits.

Owen has embraced post-retirement life, throwing himself into his Manor House Stables venture - Getty Images/Max Mumby

“I loved being a footballer, but I was so wrapped up in it that my life became so high-pressured. You get to the very top and you’re judged every three days because you know you are good at the game. You could score a hat-trick and then wake up thinking you need to do it again in the next match.

“It is like whatever success you have is not enough, because it’s on to the next match, goal or trophy. And because of how I was, if I played badly or didn’t score, it was like my world was crashing down around me. It was a hamster wheel. So if people said I looked miserable, I wasn’t, but I was just focused on the next game all the time. That was my life.

“I loved it, of course, and I was happy, but I think back over a lot of my career now like it’s a haze. There was never time to fully enjoy it. I didn’t even know what I’d achieved when I won the Ballon d’Or. Gérard Houllier was saying to me, ‘This is a huge deal. It’s massive to win this,’ and I was getting presented with it on the pitch before a match at Anfield, looking at a delegation who’d come to see me and thinking: ‘Just give me the trophy so I can get on with the game.’ I had no idea. I’d have gone to Paris and had my picture taken in front of the Eiffel Tower nowadays.”

Given that experience, it is unsurprising that one of Owen’s daughters, Emily, intends to become a sports psychologist. Would he have found it easier to appreciate and handle such a rapid rise to superstardom today?

“Social media has changed everything. I’m not sure if that makes it harder,” Owen says.

“Players have more choice and control now. When I hear complaints from footballers about nasty social media and the worst comments, I do think to myself, well, yes, it’s horrible and it shouldn’t be happening, but you don’t need to be on there, do you? You can switch social media on or off, can’t you? You can share your personality and be charitable with your time, or not bother and choose to be more distant. I’m not sure many footballers from my time had such control. You’d speak to a journalist and hoped they liked you and presented what you said how you meant it.

The rise of social media came towards the latter stages of Owen’s playing career - Getty Images/James Gill

“I feel I’ve had years of practice to deal with the worst criticism. I wasn’t born ready for that. Don’t get me wrong, there has been a lot of pain and sadness and upset to become thick-skinned. I’ve always been more hurt when those around me – my mum, dad and now my family – get upset by the more nasty stuff. I’ve become better at shrugging it off.”

Given that, allowing the cameras such access seems risky, inevitably provoking extreme responses.The broad reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, Owen says, with the potential for a second series.

“We decided to do it as a family and my biggest worry was for my young girls, Emily and Jessica,” he says.

“You don’t want them to be judged. But we’ve been thrilled by how well it has done so far. We loved doing it and put our heart and soul into it.

“It wasn’t scripted and there wasn’t a situation where we didn’t allow access. We were very much committed to making the best show possible and giving a true reflection of who we are. Whether or not it floats everybody’s boat, they’re seeing the real me.”

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