England's 'egotistical losers' dressing room rift 'news to me' says Michael Owen

England's 'Golden Generation' fell short on the international stage despite having a collection of superstars who won it all at club level.

The Three Lions' squad of the 2000s was packed full of world class talent, but they were never able to put it together on the big stage. Under Sven-Goran Eriksson's reign, they only got as far as the quarter-finals at the World Cup in 2002 and 2006, and Euro 2004; before they failed to even qualify for Euro 2008 under Steve McClaren. And their last roll of the dice saw them embarrassed by a youthful Germany side in the World Cup in 2010 as Fabio Capello flopped in South Africa.

England were filled with superstars from the four dominant clubs of the time - Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal - including the likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole and John Terry. Sadly, their bitter club rivalries seemingly got in the way of creating a harmonious camp, according to many players from those teams.

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But speaking exclusively to Daily Star Sport, former United and Liverpool striker Michael Owen, who is now the face of Casino.org in the UK, a leading comparison website helping Brits find online casinos that suit their preferences, admitted he was blissfully unaware of the widely-reported dressing room tensions.

Owen, who became a global star thanks to his wondrous goal against Argentina when aged just 18 in the 1998 World Cup, said: "I enjoyed England, I would say I possibly enjoyed it more than most. At the time I thought it was great, and when I look back.

"But just recent comments from certain people as to why we didn't win something, and who got on with who, and why we didn't do this and that... It sort of put a little slight question mark in my mind in terms of what it was like and what we were feeling."

Owen, who played for England in every major tournament from 1998 to 2006, but suffered a devastating ACL injury which cut short his tournament in the latter, added: "I thought everything was rosy and everyone liked each other.

"But reading things since saying 'oh we didn't get on' and 'if we'd had [we'd have played] a better game', it's sort of news to me.

"But I mean there's a few people who said it, so maybe, but I enjoyed England and I think there was a lot of pressure on a lot of people.

"Probably players in that squad played a lot better for their club than they did for England, which I can't put my finger exactly on why. But I enjoyed playing for England, and it's obviously a shame we didn't win a big one."

Key members of the squad during that era have spoken out about their poor relationships. Reflecting on the team, Liverpool icon Gerrard was brutal about the dynamic. "I think we were all egotistical losers," Gerrard said.

"Because I watch the telly now and I see [Jamie] Carragher sitting next to [Paul] Scholes on this Fan Debate and they look like theyve been best mates for 20 years. And I see Carraghers relationship with [Gary] Neville and they look like theyve been mates for 20 years.

Im probably more close and friendly with you Rio Ferdinand now than I ever was when I played with you for 15 years. So why didnt we connect when we were 20, 21, 22, 23? Was it ego? Was it rivalry?

Why are we all mature enough now and at stages in our life where were closer and more connected? Why couldnt we connect as England team-mates back then? I think it was down to the culture within England that we were all never connected. All in our rooms too much. We werent friendly or connected. We werent a team. We never at any stage became a real good strong team.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the main Liverpool and United divide in the camp, Ferdinand admitted his drive to succeed with United stopped him from bonding with players from rival clubs on international break.

He told the Times magazine: "It overshadowed things. It killed that England team, that generation. One year we would have been fighting Liverpool to win the league, another year it would be Chelsea. So I was never going to walk into the England dressing room and open up to Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, John Terry or Joe Cole at Chelsea, or Steven Gerrard or Jamie Carragher at Liverpool because of the fear they would take something back to their club and use it against us.

"I didn't realise that what I was doing was hurting England at the time. I was so engrossed, so obsessed with winning with Man United - nothing else mattered.''

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