Michael Owen loves Jon Stones.
We knew this before, but just in case we had forgotten, the former Liverpool and Manchester United striker told the BBC just how highly he rates the divisive England defender.
Stones is clearly a talented young player, but after being hyped up as the second coming of Franz Beckenbauer at the start of the season and then being largely unimpressive as Everton endured a disastrous campaign, the Everton defender emerged as a polarising figure among Premier League fans.
While the likes of Paul Merson tore Stones to bits, on the other end of the spectrum Michael Owen claimed that he would walk into the current Barcelona side. Welcome to the world of football punditry.
Owen has reiterated this point in a sit-down with BBC Sport ahead of Euro 2016, but this time included the idea that he's on a different level to virtually anything else. Even for him it's a bit much.
I'm a massive John Stones fan. A massive John Stones fan. I think he's absolutely on a different level to virtually anything else.
I'd play Smalling and Stones, I think people go so overboard on mistakes and they associate John Stones with mistakes, but if I ask anyone to name three mistakes that Stones has made this season, they can't name three. I could name five or six that Cahill and Smalling have made, I mean Smalling's given away a penalty, he's got sent off, he's scored an own goal just in the last couple of weeks of the season yet no-one mentions mistakes with anyone else.
This country seems infatuated with picking up on one thing, when someone says something then everyone jumps on it. This kid could play for Barcelona, he's probably our only player in the England squad that could walk into Barcelona's team at the moment, he's absolutely brilliant.
Firstly, there have been a number of occasions where the MOTD panel highlighted John Stones making more than three mistakes in a single match, so what a ridiculous thing to say there.
And as for walking into the Barcelona team? That's just bollocks. Barca are not blessed with fantastic options at the position, but the idea that John Stones would instantly improve that side can't be taken seriously.
And sure enough, the backlash has been fierce. Some are getting tired with the Michael Owen criticism that floods social media when he makes a statement, but really he does himself no favours.
Michael Owen says that John Stones would walk onto the Barcelona team... pic.twitter.com/WRxIYvuZ7q
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) June 2, 2016
What's Michael Owen on? The only way John Stones could walk into the Barcelona team is if they were coming out of a lift as he was going in
— Paul Silburn (@PaulSilburn) June 2, 2016
If Michael Owen thinks John Stones could 'walk into the Barcelona team', he must be talking about Ecuador's SC Barcelona. Fair enough.
— Andy Parsons (@andypars) June 2, 2016
Michael Owen is the most deluded clown, Stones can't get in the Everton team ahead of Jags and Funes, never mind "any Barça team"
— Meg. (@megmcgreavy) June 2, 2016
You can watch Owen's comments below, where he follows an interesting observation about Marcus Rashford's likely state of mind going into the World Cup with the Stones nonsense that ensured most people watching likely forgot the good point he made at all.
