Michael Owen: his career in pictures

Wearing No13, Michael Owen, playing for England schoolboys, is screaming for the ball in the box. He gets it before being taken down by the Brazilian goalkeeper and getting up to finish. Even as a schoolboy his natural talent for scoring was evident. "Of course, the goal was an outstanding goal ... He could have had the penalty but just in case he didn't get it, he covered himself by sticking it in the net," said the then England manager, Terry Venables Photograph: Action Images

Owen scored on his league debut for Liverpool in a 2-1 defeat to Wimbledon when he came on as a second-half substitute for Patrik Berger. The striker had to wait until the following season and a 3-3 draw in November with Sheffield Wednesday, pictured above, before he got his first league hat-trick for the club he joined aged 12 Photograph: Dan Chung/Reuters

At the 1998 World Cup in France, Owen came on as a substitute against Romania. He scored and hit the post but could not prevent his side from losing 2-1 Photograph: Mark Leech

Owen started England's next game – a 2-0 defeat of Colombia – but it was his goal against a different set of South American opponents that really brought him to the world's attention. He slalomed and sped his way past the Argentina defence ... Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian

... before finishing with the utmost of aplomb. England would lose on penalties and go out at the last 16 stage Photograph: Pawel Kopczynski/Reuters

Arguably England's greatest result over the last 20 years came when they beat Germany 5-1 in a 2002 World Cup qualifier in Munich. Owen scored a hat-trick that day, his first as an England striker Photograph: Darren Walsh/Action Images

Owen won the Premier League Golden Boot in his first two full seasons and helped Liverpool to a cup treble in 2000-01 before being named European Footballer of the Year - the first Englishman to win the award since Kevin Keegan in 1979. But speculation about Owen's future at Anfield grew and he was on his way to Spain Photograph: Dave Kendall/PA

At Madrid Owen wore the same number as club legend Alfredo di Stéfano. "I am so proud to be wearing the number 11 shirt and I'd like to thank everyone for making me so welcome here," he said. That warm welcome did not last long, however, as a mixture of injuries and lack of form saw him return to England just over a year after he had left Photograph: Jose Luis Roca/AFP/Getty Images

From the white of Real Madrid to the black and white of Newcastle, Owen cost the Magpies £16.8m when he joined them in August 2005 – a record transfer fee for the club. In December he broke a metatarsal bone playing against Tottenham and made only one more appearance for Newcastle that season as a substitute in April Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images

The injuries continued to hamper Owen. At the 2006 World Cup in Germany he ruptured his anterior cruciate knee ligament in the 2-2 draw with Sweden. "It's a massive blow. I knew straight away I was in trouble," he said at the time Photograph: Alex Morton/Action Images

The clock is well past 90 minutes when Ryan Giggs splits the Manchester City defence wide open, leaving Owen with the time and space to give Manchester United a thrilling 4-3 derby victory. It was his second of 17 goals that he would score for the club that he joined on a free transfer from Newcastle in 2009 Photograph: Tom Purslow/Man Utd via Getty Images

On 19 March 2013 Owen, who joined Stoke City at the beginning of the current season, announced on his website that he will retire from football at the end of the season. "I now feel it is the right time to bring the curtain down on my career," he wrote Photograph: Paul McFegan/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar