On this day in 2013: Michael Owen announces decision to retire at end of season

Former England striker Michael Owen announced he would retire at the end of the season on this day in 2013.

Owen, then 33, had signed a one-year contract with Stoke after leaving Manchester United the previous summer but his time in the Potteries was hampered by a hamstring injury, contributing to his decision to call it a day.

Owen scored 40 goals in 89 England appearances – making him the fourth highest scorer for his country’s men’s team at the time – and played at the top level for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle and Manchester United.

“It is with an immense amount of pride that I am announcing my intention to retire,” Owen said on March 19, 2013.

“I have been very fortunate in that my career has taken me on a journey I could only have dreamed of.

“I now feel it is the right time to bring the curtain down on my career.”

Owen burst on to the scene as a teenager at Liverpool and made England’s 1998 World Cup squad aged only 18.

His memorable solo goal against Argentina in that tournament made him a world superstar.

Owen scored 220 goals in club football, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Cup, as well as being a three-time League Cup winner.

The peak of his club career came at Liverpool where he scored 158 goals in 297 appearances, including a late double in the Reds’ 2-1 FA Cup final victory over Arsenal in 2001 – , before moving to Real Madrid in 2004.

Owen returned to the Premier League with Newcastle in August 2005 and, after four injury-blighted years on Tyneside, moved to Manchester United on a free transfer and won his sole Premier League title at Old Trafford in 2011.

He won the Ballon d’Or in 2001 – the first English player to collect the accolade since Kevin Keegan in 1979.