Michael Owen shared a heartfelt tribute to his clinically blind son James on Instagram to celebrate his 18th birthday on Tuesday.
The former footballer, 44, took to Instagram to post a sweet picture of the duo, gushing how ‘proud’ he is of James.
Captioning his post, he wrote: ‘Welcome to adulthood son. I’m incredibly proud of the man you’ve become.’
James was diagnosed with rare genetic eye condition Stargardt disease at the age of eight, and after his sight became progressively worse throughout his adolescence, he is now clinically blind.
Stargardt is a rare genetic condition which occurs when fatty material builds up on the macula – the small part of the retina needed for sharp, central vision. There is currently no cure.
Michael Owen, 44, shared a heartfelt tribute to his clinically blind son James on Instagram to celebrate his 18th birthday on Tuesday
The former footballer took to Instagram to post a sweet picture of the duo, gushing how ‘proud’ he is of James (pictured on GMB)
The 18-year-old has previously spoke about his condition with sister Gemma on Loose Women and in an exclusive interview with MailOnline, alongside Michael.
James has been open about his heartbreak of not being able to pursue a career in football, following in his famous father’s footsteps.
‘People do expect me to be going into football and I did used to really to enjoy it,’ James tells Mail Sport.
‘But it was getting to a point where it was too difficult to know where the ball was. I lost the enjoyment out of it really because I wanted to be the best.’
It is not just James who has to deal with being quizzed over his football ability.
‘It’s probably the worst question, not that I ever show it or say it to anybody,’ Michael added.
‘You find yourself either having to make an excuse or say he’s not interested and people look at you and say ‘he’s not interested in football?’ Then you have to explain everything and you end up in a conversation you don’t really want to have with anybody.
‘When someone comes up to you in the pub and says ‘does your son play?’ you just want to change the subject. That’s probably been the hardest thing over the years. James probably wasn’t enjoying football as much as he should have been because he wasn’t as good as he should have been.
Captioning his post, he wrote: ‘Welcome to adulthood son. I’m incredibly proud of the man you’ve become.’
James was diagnosed with rare genetic eye condition Stargardt disease at the age of eight, and after his sight became progressively worse throughout his adolescence, he is now clinically blind
James has been open about his heartbreak of not being able to pursue a career in football, following in his famous father’s footsteps
Opening up on her brother’s condition, Gemma shared that she become increasingly protective of him growing up (pictured together on Loose Women in 2023)
Michael and his wife Louise share four children together Gemma, Emily May, 14, Jessica, 12, and James
‘When he was very young and his eyes were probably slightly better than they are now and the pitches were smaller and everything was a lot closer so he could see the ball better, he was very, very good. I said to my dad and my wife and everyone ‘he’s got a right chance here of being a footballer’. But then as soon as he got diagnosed, he just sort of gradually stopped. He coped with it well.’
Opening up on her brother’s condition, Gemma shared that she become increasingly protective of him growing up.
She said: ‘I think at the start it was a little bit of a struggle, he had a few early years quite frustrated but he got to grips with it and is embracing it now.
‘I am the protective big sister and seeing his mates having fun and games with him, I did get protective some times.’
Michael and his wife Louise share four children together Gemma, Emily May, 14, Jessica, 12, and James.
