‘I’ve always been misrepresented’
After his appearance on The Masked Singer, football legend Michael Owen hits back at those who think he’s a “very serious” person
The world of football may be full of colourful – and at times controversial – characters, but it’s fair to say that former Liverpool and England striker Michael Owen has never really been seen as one of the game’s great jokers.
Instead, the super-talented, worldclass player, who was first signed to Liverpool when he was just 17 years old, grew into a man clearly devoted to the game and his family.
But when we meet him, Michael,
42, who was revealed on The Masked Singer as Doughnuts, is keen to show us a different side to his personality. He tells us he wants to hit back at misconceptions that he’s “very serious”.
Talking about his stint on the ITV singing show, the retired footballer said,“This is one of the first times people actually see me and think,“Fair play, he can have a laugh at himself.”
Chester-born Michael – who has Gemma, 18, James, 15, Emily, 14 and
11-year-old Jessica with wife Louise – admits it was his children who talked him into doing the programme. He says,“The kids wanted me to do it, then speaking to the people who make the show, I just thought,‘You know what, let’s just do it!’”
Here, Michael tells us why he’s ready to take more risks in the future and why David Beckham had a lot to do with his “serious” image…
Your kids talked you into doing The Masked Singer. Have they got a list of things they want you to do?
Oh yeah, definitely. I’ve shown them emails before that have asked me to go on various shows.They’re always like, “Go on, Dad!” and when I’ve said no, it’s been deflating for them. They’ve been desperate for me to do one. So now I’ve gone on one, they’re pleased. I hope they don’t get greedy now and start demanding I go on other shows.
Has doing it made you want to take more risks in the future?
In a way, yes. Talking about me personally though, obviously my image was almost set in stone. When I was 18, I came back from the World Cup in 1998 having just scored a goal [against Argentina] and that’s quite a famous goal – at the same time, one of our other footballing heroes, David
Beckham, got a red card. I came back and everybody had already made their mind up – “We’re going to make one a hero and one a villain.” My image has stuck forever of this whiter-than-white character who is very serious.
And that’s not how you are?
Everybody always says,“You’re so not like what your image is out there.” This was one of the first times that people actually saw me and thought, “Oh, fair play, he can have a laugh at himself.” Everybody I work with are all the same, they all think,“You’re so misrepresented in the public eye.” It’s not that I’ve changed, it’s maybe that people look at me now and they think, “Actually, he’s quite fun.”
After an exciting start to 2022, what else have you got planned?
I work a lot with punditry and TV for all the football. I’ve got nothing necessarily planned, but as I say, I’ve enjoyed
[The Masked Singer] that much that I wouldn’t rule anything out in the future.
Did your family enjoy watching you?
It’s just been the most exciting couple of months for them, for everyone that knew really. There were not that many people who did know, but of course some people had to because I kept going off to London to film the next show. From recording it to when I finished recording and them phoning me up, saying,“Yeah, Doughnuts... we got through to the next round but you’ve got to keep it quiet.You’ve got to keep it a secret.” It’s definitely been a brilliant couple of months.
‘I was desperate to ask Glenn Hoddle for advice!’
Did you speak to anyone who has appeared on the show beforehand?
I kept it top secret and the ironic thing is, Glenn Hoddle [who appeared on the show in season two as Grandfather Clock], who was my manager at England, works regularly with me. I was working on TV with him, then staying over during the night and then going onto the show the next day. I was desperate to ask him, but of course, everybody on the show said it’s absolute top secret. So I couldn’t.
What was Glenn’s reaction when he finally found out?
We joked about the times that he was talking about the show in front of me. I was filming at the time and I still had to keep my mouth shut.