Michael Owen has relived his club-record transfer to Newcastle United and detailed his secret arrangement to keep the door open for a return to Liverpool. The former England international insists no-one should 'blame' him for his desire to move back to Anfield, and argues Alan Shearer would have 'done the same' if the roles had been reversed.
Owen spent a single season with Real Madrid before the Magpies brought him back to the Premier League in a £16m deal in 2005. The 25-year-old did not hide his desire to return to Liverpool, and injuries would prevent the Toon Army from seeing the best of the striker during his four-year stint at St James' Park.
Owen left as a free agent for Manchester United following Newcastle's relegation in 2009 under manager Alan Shearer, and the former team-mates have infamously fallen out in the years since. Owen has opened up on the 'feud' and feels he has been made a scapegoat after the Magpies' all-time goalscorer was unable to prevent his boyhood club slipping out of the Premier League.
