Not every Premier League player can say they have received royal approval, but one well-known former Liverpool player has - from her majesty the Queen herself.
Back in 2006, the England national team boasted a star-studded side including the likes of David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes.
Sven-Goran Eriksson enjoyed a five-year tenure coaching the 'golden generation' but despite his best efforts, could not get England past the quarter-final stages of a major international tournament.
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Speaking to the 'Sacked in the Morning' podcast, he said: "We should've won the World Cup in 2006, because that was more or less the same team we'd had for many years, and the players had a lot of experience of playing in big tournaments. You would think that they could be lazy boys or divas, they don't like to work because they are big names with big egos, but when they came together there were no egos. It was a huge pleasure to be their manager and I still have contact with a lot of them, and that's nice."
But when Eriksson was invited to a royal reception with the Queen, if was here that the British monarch revealed who her favourite player was.
Eriksson said: "I was invited to lunch with The Queen with about another 10 people. At a certain point, I asked her if she liked football? She said not really. I asked her for her favourite player or team? I thought she would've said Beckham. 'Michael Owen is my favourite player,' she said. I asked why and she said: 'he looks so clean'. That was the answer I got and we didn't go on with that discussion."
What Owen - who famously won the FA Cup for Liverpool in 2001 - would make of his royal stamp approval is not known, but it looks like his famous solo run, that did a number on Argentina back 1998, left a lasting impression at Buckingham Palace.
