MICHAEL OWEN believes he “lost control” of his career the moment he left Liverpool for Real Madrid.
The former England international swapped Merseyside for Madrid in the summer of 2004 after eight goal-filled seasons with the Reds.
The stunning move to the Bernabeu, however, didn’t go to plan as he failed to win a trophy in his sole season with the Galacticos, in which he scored 16 goals in 45 appearances.
He returned to England the following summer for a four-season stint with Newcastle before a shock move to Liverpool‘s bitter rivals Manchester United in July 2009.
Some of the Kop faithful still resent Owen for joining the Red Devils, although the 44-year-old believes their resentment originally stemmed from him leaving Anfield in the first place.
He 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 now, ‘It was because he signed for Manchester United.’
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Liverpool: 297 appearances – 158 goals & 49 assists
Real Madrid: 45 appearances – 16 goals & four assists
Newcastle United: 79 appearances – 30 goals & 2 assists
Manchester United: 52 appearances – 17 goals & three assists
Stoke City: Nine appearances – One goal
Club Total: 483 appearances – 223 goals & 58 assists
England: 89 appearances: 40 goals & 12 assists
“But the whole world knows there has been some history rewritten there.
“There was resentment directed at me before then when I played for Newcastle, even though I had a clause in my Newcastle contract that I could re-sign for Liverpool every summer.
“The Manchester United aspect is now an easier stick to beat me with.
“But when I came back to Anfield for the first time as a Newcastle player, there were a few hundred, possibly a thousand supporters, booing me.
“I can’t forget how I, my parents, and my former Liverpool team-mates felt.
“Everyone who understood and appreciated the reality of the situation was disappointed on my behalf.”
Owen never had any ambitions of leaving Liverpool, let alone playing abroad, when he was at the peak of his powers.
But he would have kicked himself had he not taken the opportunity to play for the European giants.
The 2001 Ballon d’Or winner admitted: “I never had big ambitions to play abroad.
“Really, but I fit the bill as the type of player they pursued.
“If you are scoring goals, are a creative midfielder, or an amazing, unique type of right-back like Trent, you are seen as a marquee signing.
“They wanted me with [Luís] Figo, [Zinedine] Zidane, Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos.
“I looked at that and thought it would have been harder not to score.
“I thought long and hard about leaving Liverpool, but in the end something inside told me I would regret it if I didn’t give it a go.”
