MICHAEL OWEN has sensationally revealed he only joined Newcastle United because of a secret contract clause that could have sent him straight back to Liverpool.
The ex-England striker left Anfield for Real Madrid in 2004 but says he was desperate to return to Merseyside after just one season in Spain.
Owen eventually signed for Newcastle in a £16.8million deal in 2005 but now admits he only agreed to it so he could insert a clause allowing a return to Liverpool after just one year.
Owen said when speaking to Mashable India: “That’s all I wanted to do, play for one team in the world.”
The former Ballon d’Or winner says Real Madrid made it clear they’d only sell him to Newcastle who had doubled Liverpool’s offer.
And the Reds, who had just won the Champions League, refused to match the bid.
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He explained: “The president of Real Madrid said, ‘You can’t go to Liverpool because Newcastle have offered double the money.
“If Liverpool offer the same, you can go.’ But Liverpool were never going to do that.
“So I had a choice, stay at Madrid or go to Newcastle. The only reason I signed [for Newcastle] was so I could put in a clause that said after one year, I could go to Liverpool. That’s all I wanted.”
But the fairytale return never happened. Instead, Owen stayed four years at Newcastle before making a hugely controversial switch to Manchester United, a move that infuriated Liverpool fans and, many argue, damaged his legacy at Anfield.
Now 43, Owen says the abuse he still gets for playing for both clubs ignores the full story.
He said: “Nobody needs to know that. Nobody does know it. Nobody cares to know it.
“But they do care to say, ‘Oh, you played for Liverpool, then you played for Manchester United, you must have no loyalty.”
Owen insists he spent years trying to get back to Liverpool and personally called the club’s managers every season to beg for a second chance.
He concluded: “I was on the phone to Brendan Rodgers, every single year I was on the phone to the Liverpool manager. It’s Liverpool that didn’t want me back.
“Suarez was there, Torres was there and that’s absolutely fine. That’s football. I don’t hold any grudges.
“But I was saying, ‘Please take me, please take me.’ Every single year.”
Liverpool host Manchester United this Sunday at Anfield and while the rivalry remains fierce, Owen’s latest revelations could give fans something else to debate, whether the striker was ever truly given the chance to come home.
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