I had a transfer agreement to leave Newcastle United & join Liverpool – now both fans boo me everywhere I go.
Michael Owen has reflected on his career and the anger directed at him from Liverpool and Newcastle United supporters in particular.
Owen was at the height of his career during his time at Liverpool, winning the Ballon D’Or in 2001 at age 22. After scoring 158 goals in 297 games for The Reds, Owen left to join Spanish giants Real Madrid.
But the former England international lasted just one season at the Santiago Bernabéu before returning to the Premier League with Newcastle United. Owen has since made it no secret that it was his desire to return to Liverpool over Newcastle and even had a clause in his contract with The Magpies that would allow him to re-join the Merseyside club.
But the former England international lasted just one season at the Santiago Bernabéu before returning to the Premier League with Newcastle United. Owen has since made it no secret that it was his desire to return to Liverpool over Newcastle and even had a clause in his contract with The Magpies that would allow him to re-join the Merseyside club.
And of all the clubs, he ended up joining Liverpool’s fierce rivals Manchester United. It was a move that saw him become an unpopular figure on both Tyneside and Merseyside, with both Newcastle and Liverpool fans routinely booing Owen when he featured in Premier League matches against them.
After one being a hero at Liverpool, Owen admitted he is ‘not loved’ anymore.
Reflecting on his career, Owen told The Telegraph: “The moment I chose to go to Real Madrid I lost control of my career and what the perceptions of it are.
“I don’t love going to Anfield now because I know I am not loved back. I tend to only go when I am working.
“It’s not that I dread going but, for a long time, I used to bury my head when driving back to the academy to see friends. I have told myself since, ‘I should not have been feeling like that’.
“People say ‘It was because he signed for Manchester United’. But the whole world knows there has been some history rewritten there.”
