Michael Owen has accused former club Newcastle of lying about offering him a new deal in 2009. The 33-year-old former England international announced on Monday that he will retire from football at the end of the season.
Owen made his name with liverpool and went on to play for Real Madrid, Newcastle and Manchester United before signing for Stoke at the start of this season.
The striker spoke about his career on BBC’s Football Focus today, where, amongst other things, he spoke about his four injury-hit years with Newcastle. The fact Owen left to join United on a free transfer after the Magpies were relegated still rankles with many supporters, but the striker took to Twitter this afternoon to defend himself.
“Newcastle fans, following my Football Focus interview, plenty of you tweeting me saying you don’t blame me for getting injured but for leaving when we got relegated,’’ he tweeted.
“Despite the club saying they did, they didn’t ever offer me a new contract despite them putting it in the press that they did. How could they when they had just been relegatedIJ It would have been financial suicide.
“I’ve seen it a million times, a club will blatantly lie to their fans to take the moral high ground leaving the player with no leg to stand on.“I’ve taken the stick for years which is fine but you really don’t know half of it. All will be revealed one day.’’
Owen to become agentOwen said he plans to start a player agency business when he retires from soccer at the end of the season.
Injuries have hampered Owen during several of the past seasons, including a three-year spell at Manchester United in which he played just 31 league games. “On July 1 I propose to set up Michael Owen Management ltd. focusing on guiding young players through their careers and offering them advice at every juncture of what can be a career full of pitfalls,” Owen said in a statement on his website. Owen added that he is entering the business after seeing “so many horror stories” during his career and learning “plenty from my own experiences.”
Owen rose to prominence as a 17 year-old with liverpool, from before he was selected to play for England year later in 1998. By the time he played his last international game in 2008, he had scored 40 goals in 89 games, the fifth highest by an England player.
Owen’s talent was recognised globally at the 1998 World Cup. Starting the tournament as a substitute he came on to score a goal within minutes of taking the field against Romania before surging past the Argentina defense to score one of the goals of the tournament.
“I feel genuinely excited by the opportunity of guiding some of our best talent through their formative years and beyond,” Owen said of his plans. “Having already spoken with a number of people within the game, I get a real sense that they too feel that I can play an important role in helping to nurture talented youngsters into our stars of the future both on and off the pitch.”
Owen said he also plans to focus on a media career that has started to take shape this season with appearances on several television shows. He will sign to work with the BBC on radio and TV from next season, according to reports.
“I have appeared on various channels trying out different roles and gaining experience for a future on TV,” Owen said in his blog. “I am currently in discussions with several broadcasters and hoping to secure a contract for next season and beyond.”
The striker, who also played for Real madrid and Newcastle United, has used part of his wealth on building a successful career in the horse racing industry. In 2007 he established the Manor House Stables training yard, which accommodates more than 100 horses. In 2011 one of his runners, Brown Panther, won a major race at Royal Ascot.