'I pretended to be Owen on the street - but you can't compare us'

""Michael and I are very different players,""

""I used to go out on the street and pretend to be Michael Owen - even though he played for Liverpool.""

""The only person you could possibly compare me to in our country is Wayne Rooney.""

""I think his comments are fair. Of course, he's going to back himself. I'd back myself. "But, I'd never judge myself against Michael Owen because he's someone I actually looked up to and had the pleasure of playing alongside [for England and Manchester United].""

A debate compared Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney at age 17 after Owen backed himself on a podcast. Rooney said they were very different players and recalled pretending to be Owen as a child. Owen said the only comparable player in England at that age was Rooney. Rooney called Owen's comments fair, said he would back himself too, but would not judge himself against Owen because he had looked up to him and enjoyed playing alongside him. Owen won the Ballon d'Or at 22 and scored 222 club goals; Rooney scored 313 club goals and is Manchester United's top scorer.

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