MICHAEL Owen was once branded the “most boring pundit in sport” but behind the cameras, his life appears anything but with X-rated jokes, “nastiness” nearly ending his marriage and his age-long feud with Alan Shearer.
Now the BT Sport commentator has been called out for allegedly “begging” for nude photographs from a former Big Brother star.
Owen has not responded to claims that he “judged” more than 20 topless photos from reality star Rebecca Jane and sent her hundreds of explicit messages.
Owen, who has been married to Louise Bonsall since 2005, remarked “great t**s” according to The Sunday Mirror and “tremendous by the way” in response to the saucy snaps.
The 41-year-old, who played for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City during his 16-year professional career, is no stranger to controversy.
In the wake of the recent allegations, we look back at the shocking scandals to turn Owen from the darling of English football to unlikely bad boy.
X-rated Twitter joke
Owen caused quite the stir when he tweeted a photograph of his two dogs lying on top of each other and a remark about his wife.
The 2014 snap, which showed one his pet’s face next to the other’s testicles, was accompanied by the comment: “I wonder if Mrs O will be so kind tonight!”
He sent the message to his then-three million Twitter followers – to a mixed response.
One wrote “best ever tweet” and another questioned whether he was of sound mind, adding: “Haha I can't believe you wrote that! Are you drunk?"
'It was worth asking'
Another quipped: “Disgusting. Why do you want [your] wife to lick your dog's b*****ks?”
Later on, Owen updated fans with a photograph of his wife sticking two fingers up at him, which he captioned: “Oh well, it was worth asking.”
Some were surprised by the pundit’s remarks and suggested it was an unlikely move from the star because they considered him “boring”.
One person wrote: “If [you] were to pick one man to do something like that I think he would be almost last on the list.”
Owen has since deleted the tweet but misconceptions about his personality emerged during his alleged sexting with Rebecca Jane.
In one message, he was claimed to have written: “I love the way everyone says I’m an angel then within a minute of meeting me can’t believe how wrong they were.”
Shear-er fury
Owen once described Alan Shearer as “not only a strike partner… [but] a good mate” and even stayed at his home for a while after moving to Newcastle United in 2005.
The pair played alongside one another in the England team and bonded off the pitch with games of golf – but eventually their friendship turned sour.
In Owen’s 2019 autobiography, Reboot: My Life, My Time, he wrote: “At no time did I get the impression that he (Shearer) saw things any differently.
“To put it simply, there has been a lot of lies, bulls*** and general misinformation surrounding the end of my time at Newcastle."
Their feud began after Shearer was put in charge of the Magpies in 2009, during the club’s desperate bid to avoid relegation.
Ahead of their final clash against Aston Villa, Owen told the skipper he “wasn’t fully fit but was prepared to play” despite having a groin injury.
'Scapegoat for failure'
But Owen claimed his boss “made an insinuation” that he wasn’t invested in the club and “had half an eye on my next contract”.
Later he was told Shearer “was apparently seething” with him and Owen felt he was being “used as a scapegoat” for the club’s relegation.
In his book, he wrote: “Perhaps, rather than examine his own shortcomings, it felt easier to blame Michael Owen.”
It seemed his beliefs weren’t completely unfounded after Shearer vented about the star on the Match of the Day podcast.
He said: “I felt he could have done more at Newcastle in my time when I was the manager.”
Owen noted that it was “a shame” the pair hadn’t “talked this out face to face” before taking a dig at Shearer’s managerial record, branding it “hardly God-like”.
'F***ing Newcastle fans'
Later that year, the footballer caused a stir after told the Daily Mirror: “I don’t need to justify myself to f***ing Newcastle fans.”
In response, Shearer posted a video of Owen on Twitter where he said: “I hated it, I couldn’t wait to retire.”
The former manager fumed: “Yes Michael, we thought that also, whilst on £120k a week…”
Owen accused Shearer of hypocrisy and felt there was nothing wrong with wanting to leave Newcastle United.
He pointed out that while his former-manager was playing for Sir Bobby Robson he “tried everything to get out”.
He added: “Not sure you are as loyal to Newcastle as you make out mate.”
Nastiness, rage and divorce
Owen sought out counseling after staring “into an abyss called divorce” in 2014 as he struggled to adapt to life after retiring from football.
He believed the pressure of playing in the top flight had left him “extremely focused and driven” but it took a toll on his mental health.
The star wrote: “Some have even said that they've seen a cold darkness in me… the truth is, inside, I have raged at times.”
Owen candidly recounted the difficulties he put his family through on match days when “nobody dared say a word to me” and other “nasty” responses.
He felt lucky his family showered him with the “most profound… unconditional love” at that time and for being able to “tolerate half of what I threw at them”.
Owen continued: “Because of my own inner demons, I was intentionally really hard on Louise about subjects that I knew would push her buttons most.
'I couldn't stop!'
“I'd take everything out on Louise, though – I'd accuse her of spending all her time with her eldest and ignoring the other kids. It wasn't even true.”
In hindsight, Owen was able to recognise that he was being “picking, needling” and “being nasty” but at the time he “couldn’t stop it”.
The couple edged closer to divorce and had marriage counselling – after that concluded, Owen continued to have sessions on his own.
The star believed his bad behaviour was down to his own “flaws and insecurities” and felt “like a new person” after therapy.
Owen said it made him realise that he “deeply loved” his wife and “wholeheartedly loved” his family.
He said: “My life-changing liaison with the idea of splitting with Louise and the family in 2014 has passed.
“I'm pretty sure that everyone who knows me will say that I'm now a completely different person – in the best possible way.”
'Sext scandal'
How this new alleged scandal will affect his marriage is yet to be seen and Owen’s spokesman declined to comment when approached by the Sunday Mirror.
The footballer started following Rebecca on Twitter back in March before their chats reportedly turned sexual.
Messages from the reality TV star, who also appeared on This Morning, showed her asking Owen whether he had cheated on his wife during their marriage.
He allegedly responded: “I’d say it’s pretty naive to, as I’ve been with my partner virtually all my life.
“If I was s***ging left right and centre I’m pretty sure I’d have been found out by now.”
Rebecca’s messages also suggest he tried to arrange a rendezvous so they could “meet for a debate” in April – but she backed out ahead of the big day.
Her friend claimed Owen “continued to message her and even tried calling her at 3am” when she didn’t show up.
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