Michael Owen makes outlandish Kylian Mbappe statement after comparing himself to France star

Michael Owen has made an outlandish statement about Kylian Mbappe after comparing himself to the France star - believing he was quicker in his heyday.

Mbappe is one of the leading superstars in world football having made himself a national hero and earned legendary status amongst Paris Saint-Germain fans. The 25-year-old's remarkable footballing ability, combined with his raw speed, strength and power puts him at the very top of the tree when it comes to natural talent.

It's the Frenchman's explosive movement and acceleration that is often highlighted as one of his most important assets, however, with French newspaper Le Figaro once naming Mbappe as the fastest player in the world, with the youngster clocking in at an impressive top speed of 36km/h (22mph) in 2020.

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Former Liverpool and England striker Owen, however, believes he could have beaten the soon-to-be Real Madrid player in a foot race during his playing career. A former Los Blancos star himself, Owen definitely wasn't short of pace on the field and also found himself bamboozling defenders with his change in speed and direction.

The Ballon d'Or winner was once asked on Twitter (now X) how fast he could run the 100m sprint during his career, to which he replied that his best time stands at 10.8 seconds, an effort he claims to have recorded as a 14-year-old. Now, he's saying he'd back his younger self against Mbappe on the field.

"Over 20 or 30 meters, I would have taken myself against anyone," Owen told Prime Casino . "I would say if Mbappe and I had a race, I'd have thought I'd be ahead until around 30 meters, then he would start going clear.

‌"In a 100m race he would probably win by five or six meters, I think he'd comfortably beat me over 100m. But I think over 20, 25 or even 30 meters, I think I would back myself."

While Owen admits that Mbappe would have him over a full 100m race, perhaps it's fair to say that he may well have been quicker off the mark than the Frenchman for the first 20-30m. There's obviously no denying that Mbappe is blessed with explosive pace, but Owen was hardly slow himself.

The former Red does admit, however, that injuries hampered his physical progression and he could only imagine what things would have been like had he been blessed with the facilities Mbappe and others players have in the modern day.

‌"The only thing I wish is that medical science had been what it is now," said Owen. "I had a similar injury when I was at Manchester United in the cup final. I'd just scored against Aston Villa and then did the same injury I'd done on my right leg that I did on my left when I was 18.

‌"Within a week I was surgically repaired and within four or five months I was absolutely brand new again. But they would never touch a muscle surgically when I was young, when I had my first serious injury in 1999.

‌"Ten years is a long time in medical science and I can only wonder what could have happened if I had been surgically repaired as opposed to just letting it heal for five months and then coming back a lot weaker."