Showed magnificent form in the first half of the 1999/2000 season, until he was arrested in January 2000, along with Jonathan Woodgate, in connection with an alleged attack on a student outside a Leeds nightclub. As a result his form dipped and coupled with injury led to an unhappy close to the season
Moved to Leeds in July 1996 for a then British record fee for a teenager of an initial £2.6million, building to £3million over time.
After taking a long time to settle, his performances led to him being voted United's Player of the Season for 1998/99.
Fought off the challenge of Alf-Inge Haaland and David Hopkin to win a midfield berth and has been one the club's most valuable players since.
Hard-working, hard in the tackle and with an eye for goal, Bowyer looked to be the fringe of an England place until his well-publicised troubles.
Was a star at home and in Europe as Leeds made the semi-finals of the Champions League - and almost finished top scorer in the competition. One of the best players in the Premiership throughout 2000/01 - even though his court case was in progress.
The first trial was abandoned, and Bowyer was eventually cleared of all charged in November 2001. But when Leeds slapped a four-week fine on the player for being out drunk on the night in question he refused to accept the punishment.
The Leeds players showed their support by saluting him in the stands when he was dropped for the following game against Everton.
Although the player - eventually - accepted his punishment, he refused to sign a new contract. With his deal due to expire in the summer of 2003, there was inevitable speculation about his long term future.
There were many pundits who were calling for Bowyer to be selected for England, but the FA ruled that both he and team-mate Woodgate would not be selected for the national team until after the 2002 World Cup.
Leeds accepted an offer from Liverpool for the player in July 2002, but the move broke down over Bowyer's wage demands. Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier also said he did not believe the midfielder really wanted to play for the club.
On his return to Leeds, Bowyer insisted he always wanted to stay at Elland Road. However, the contract remained unsigned and new Leeds boss Terry Venables set a deadline of January 2003 for Bowyer to put pen to paper.
By the start of the 2002/03 season, the player had made 244 appearances for Leeds, scoring 52 goals.
After serving a near three-year international ban, due to his court case, the FA cleared Bowyer for selection at the start of the 02/03 season and England manager Sven Goran Eriksson called him into the squad to face Portugal at Villa Park.
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