Sport 18-12-2001 Michael Owen Is Best Footballer Since Keegan who: Michael Owen what: Wins Ballon d`Or award where: Zurich when: Yesterday snippet: "Michael Owen was crowned European Player of the Year yesterday and scooped a £50,000 bonus," says The Sun. "The Liverpool hotshot got the cash from his boot sponsors after becoming the first Englishman to win the award since Kevin Keegan in 1979." "I couldn`t believe it when I heard the news," says Owen, quoted in The Telegraph today. "I knew that I was one of the five players in question, but it still seemed unbelievable to me." However, in The Mirror, Kevin Keegan warns that if Owen ever falls on hard times he won`t fetch much for the Ballon d`Or. "The trophy itself is nothing to get too excited about," he says. "I had it valued a few years ago for insurance purposes, and it was only worth about £10." "But while Owen celebrated, David Beckham reflected on a double disappointment," says Russell Thomas in The Guardian, "as he missed out on both the European honour and, agonisingly, the ultimate accolade, world player of the year." Indeed, The Mirror`s Kevin Garside suggests that Beckham was "snubbed" by his own team. Beckham was joined by his wife Victoria to see him named runner-up to Portugal`s Luis Figo, but there was not a single Old Trafford representative in Zurich to console him. [... more]

What The Papers Say is delivered to thousands of readers every morning by web, WAP and email. Sign up today!