Michael Owen continues to resent David Beckham for his infamous red card at the 1998 World Cup and insists his former teammate “let every England player down”.
Beckham was dismissed in the second half of the last 16 tie against Argentina after kicking out at Diego Simeone.
Despite holding on at 2-2 to take the tie to penalties, the Three Lions crashed out 4-3 on spot kicks, leaving Owen bitter, despite admitting the offence probably did not warrant a red card.
“His flick-out was so childish, it also seemed so much more unnecessary,” Owen writes in his new book Reboot serialised in the Mirror. ”People will say it was just a mistake, but my feeling is that, if you want to win World Cups, you can’t afford to make mistakes.
“All I can say is that, as I sit here now writing this book, knowing how lucky a player is to appear in one World Cup, never mind more than one, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that what David did that day hadn’t let every single one of that England team down.
“Did he deserve the abuse he got from the press afterwards? Certainly not. What human being needs to see his or her effigy being burned? But David let us down, and I still hold some resentment about it today.”
The revelation follows Owen reigniting his feud with Alan Shearer and questioning the former Newcastle No 9’s commitment after being criticised for picking up £120,000 per week over an injury-hit four years at St. James’ Park.
“Not sure you are as loyal to Newcastle as you make out mate,” Owen said in response.
“I distinctly remember you being inches away from signing for Liverpool after Sir Bobby Robson put you on the bench. You tried everything to get out.”
