Michael Owen has confessed about a strange new hobby in a weird and wonderful new Amazon documentary about his life with daughter Gemma and the rest of his family
Michael Owen has discussed his odd love for orcas in his new Amazon documentary, Meet the Owens.
He claims that Instagram has turned him into an “orca pervert” with all the Killer Whale-related videos it shows him. The new show offers an insight into the lives of Michael, his wife Louise, and their four children, Gemma, James, Emily, and Jessica. While Michael is a Premier League icon, having played for Liverpool, Newcastle United and Manchester United, as well as Real Madrid, it’s his love for the sea animals that catches the eye in the series.
He also addresses a viral video from 1999 in which he infamously celebrated after scoring against a 13-year-old goalkeeper. However, expanding on his love for Killer Whales, in one episode, Michael tells his son James: “I watched an Orca documentary last night and it’s so good. I’m fascinated by the way they hunt. They are the cleverest animals, so clever.
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“At some point, I’ve looked at a clip of an Orca, really thought, ‘Oh my god, that’s cool,’ and watched the next one that cropped up, and the next one. Now, because I watch everyone, loads of Orca things come down on my feed. So despite you lot taking the mick out of me, it’s only Instagram that’s shoehorned me into being an Orca pervert – and you know I’m afraid of the sea.”
Such is his love for the animal, his family are seen placing an orca decoration on their Christmas tree. While his daughter says Michael has a “weird obsession with orcas”, she doesn’t understand why.
What he does clear up, however, is the viral video of him appearing on a 1999 edition of Soccer Skills alongside Everton legend Neville Southall.
In the video, a spritely Michael is seen scoring past a 13-year-old goalkeeper, much to Southall’s chagrin, who says, “Well done, he’s 13” in one unforgettable moment.
Speaking on Meet the Owens, Michael clears up just why he wheeled away, celebrating after scoring against the teenager.
“My agent signed me on a soccer skills video and that’s gone viral as well,” he says. “They put a kid in goal and I score a few goals past him and they’re like, ‘Stop being so wooden, you have to try and celebrate’ and so I did… [then everyone is saying] ‘Oh well done, beating a kid that’s 13 years old.”
He adds: “Bear in mind I was only a baby myself. Brands would throw me in front of a camera and go ‘Say this, do that,’ whatever.”
Michael also elaborates on his pet hates, namely: Christmas hampers. He says: “You know what the worst thing about everything is? Hampers at Christmas.
Watch Michael Owen docuseries Meet the Owens for free
Amazon Prime members can watch all six episodes of Michael Owen docuseries Meet the Owens, which follows a year in the life of the former England and Liverpool striker, for free when they launch on August 28.
“They give you s**t in them. Olives? Nobody likes olives. All these s****y things are all hampers. If it’s a hamper with nice stuff in it its fine but most got like, tea.”
Members of his family then inform the ex-Premier League star that they have purchased him a Christmas hamper.
If there’s one universally held opinion about the former striker, it’s that he’s perhaps a little on the dull side. Yet Michael discusses his reputation for being, as he says in the show, “a boring p***k”, adding: “Even my kids say, ‘Dad, everyone sees you as dead boring.”
But he is not fazed in the slightest. Owen concludes: “That’s cool. The vast majority of people who laughed at it just don’t get it and that’s why they’re b****y muppets. Probably still living in their mum and dad’s house at 40 years of age, who’s a***d?”
Meet the Owens premieres on Prime Video on Thursday, August 28