Andy Goldstein’s jaw may as well have fallen through the floor.
The talkSPORT Drive host could not believe his ears when English football great Michael Owen revealed he had no idea what the Ballon d’Or was when he first realised he won it.
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Owen became the fourth Englishman to take out football’s top individual accolade when he won the award in 2001, joining an exclusive club alongside Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton and Kevin Keegan.
He was also the first Englishman to have won the Ballon d’Or since the second of Keegan’s two triumphs in 1979.
The 45-year-old finished with 176 points, 36 more than second-placed Raul and 52 more than Oliver Kahn, who was third in the rankings.
Owen won the award after a standout 2000/01 campaign on an individual and team basis with Liverpool.
The forward slammed home 24 goals in 46 games across all competitions for the Reds as they won the treble of the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup.
To the outside world, Owen’s feats made him a serious contender for the Ballon d’Or.
But for the man of the moment, who found out several weeks ahead of the official announcement he would win the Ballon d’Or thanks to a phone call from then-Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier, he was none the wiser.
When asked by talkSPORT Drive co-host Darren Bent whether he ever thought he was in contention for the Ballon d’Or, Owen left the studio stunned.
“I never did because I never even knew what it was,” Owen said on talkSPORT.
“Back in those days, it was never in our press.
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“When Gerard Houllier phoned me and said, ‘You’ve won the Ballon d’Or’, I’m like, ‘What’s that, gaffer?’
“Abroad, it’s so big. It’s only just cottoned on here for the last five or ten years.”
Owen added: “Then I had to go away and look the winners up. It quickly sunk in how big it was.
“But when he (Houllier) first mentioned it, I had no idea.”
Owen confirmed he still has his Ballon d’Or safe in his possession.
He revealed it sits in a cabinet at his home along with all of his other medals, trophies and football memorabilia.
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Owen added his Ballon d’Or trophy ‘sits on a little plinth and slowly spins.’
The former Liverpool marksman remains the last Englishman to have won the award, with Frank Lampard coming the closest when he finished second in the rankings for the 2005 Ballon d’Or.
In the following years, an Englishman has finished in the top three of the Ballon d’Or rankings just once.
That was Jude Bellingham, who ended up third in the 2024 Ballon d’Or rankings behind Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Jr and Manchester City midfielder Rodri, who won by just 41 votes.
But given the emergence of teenage sensation Lamine Yamal coupled with fellow superstars like Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe among others, Owen feared it may be some time before another Englishman wins the same award.
“A couple of years ago if you asked me that, I’d have said Phil Foden and Bellingham,” Owen said.
“I thought we had three or four chances. But I’m not so confident now.
“I’m not sure there’s a real standout that I think, ‘Wow, he is one of the best three, four, five players in the world.’
“I don’t think we’ve got one of those at the moment.”
But if there is to be an English Ballon d’Or winner, Owen laid out what they need to do if they are to follow suit.
“You obviously need to have an exceptional season in a team that wins an exceptional trophy or multiple trophies,” Owen said.
“If Real Madrid go and win the Champions League, then of course Jude Bellingham. But then he’s got to be the standout.
“With other players like Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe, then it can be quite tricky.
Michael Owen’s career in numbers
Liverpool (1996-2004): 297 games, 158 goals, 51 assists
Real Madrid (2004-2005): 45 games, 16 goals, four assists
Newcastle United (2005-2009): 79 games, 30 goals, two assists
Manchester United (2009-2012): 52 games, 17 goals, three assists
Stoke City (2012-2013): Nine games, one goal
England (1998-2008): 89 games, 40 goals
Premier League Player of the Season (1997/98)
Two-time Premier League Golden Boot winner (1997/98, 1998/99)
Ballon d’Or winner (2001)
FA Cup winner (2000/01)
League Cup winner (2000/01, 2002/03, 2009/10)
Premier League winner (2010/11)
UEFA Cup winner (2000/01)
BBC Sports Personality of the Year (1998)
