Gareth Bale has joined the TNT Sports activities line-up forward of the brand new season and can cowl his outdated membership Tottenham within the Champions League.
Spurs threw away a two-goal lead with 5 minutes left to lose the Tremendous Cup on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain.
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Until the Welshman dusts off his boots to play for Spurs, it will not generate the identical pleasure as one switch saga after the Tremendous Cup in 2005.
Rafael Benítez wasted little time in making waves upon his arrival at Liverpool the yr earlier than.
The Spaniard sanctioned Michael Owen’s £8million transfer to Actual Madrid solely weeks after succeeding Gérard Houllier as supervisor.
Owen joined Liverpool aged simply 12 and went on to interrupt into the primary workforce in 1997 earlier than quickly turning into an England common.
learn extra on Michael Owen
The striker stays the membership’s seventh-highest scorer, having fired in a powerful 158 objectives in 297 video games for the Reds.
Owen’s exploits on Merseyside noticed him scoop the Ballon d’Or in 2001 – the final Englishman to raise the coveted award.
Nonetheless, Liverpool went on to win the Champions League throughout the first season with out him, following the Miracle of Istanbul.
Owen, in the meantime, scored 16 objectives in 45 appearances throughout his one season on the Santiago Bernabeu earlier than seeking to return house.
Benitez initially tried taking part in coy on the potential for signing a participant he had agreed to promote a yr earlier within the build-up to the Tremendous Cup.
“We’ve got not made a proposal for Michael Owen and I’m wanting just for a centre-back, not for a centre-forward,” Benitez mentioned.
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“I smile once I learn within the Spanish press that we have now opened talks with Actual Madrid. Michael Owen is an effective participant however we have now six gamers in that place and we want a right-winger and a centre-back.”
Benitez additionally rejected his captain Steven Gerrard’s declare that Liverpool couldn’t afford to see Owen be part of any of their Premier League rivals.
“My precedence is to work with the gamers I’ve in the meanwhile to enhance them, with Crouch, with Morientes,” he added.
“I have to be centered on my workforce whereas attempting to signal higher gamers however in the meanwhile the reply is similar: we have now six strikers for less than two locations.”
Benitez’s poker face was lastly damaged by his former Liverpool chief govt, Rick Parry, within the hours earlier than the 2005 Tremendous Cup.
Newcastle had agreed a shock £17m membership file deal for Owen, however the-then 25-year-old made it clear he most popular to return to Anfield.
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Parry mentioned: “There has by no means been a cut up between us and Rafa over Michael or every other participant.
“It is not a no or a sure – there was loads of hypothesis and we’ll see subsequent week.
“It is all the time encouraging when a participant says he needs to come back to Liverpool.”
The Premier League champions finally confirmed their hand after a 3-1 extra-time victory over CSKA Moscow within the 2005 Tremendous Cup.
However with Liverpool finally unable to match Newcastle’s provide, Owen revealed years later that he was left with a choice to make.
He advised BT Sports activities’ ‘What I Wore’: “I spoke to Newcastle and Newcastle agreed that if I signed for them, I can do one yr after which they may promote me to Liverpool for an agreed price of £12m.
“Then if I do one other yr, then they’ll promote me to Liverpool for £8m, and one other yr for £4m.
“So yearly, it might be extra enticing for Liverpool to purchase me again.”
Benitez even alluded to such a clause forward of Owen’s return to Anfield with Newcastle in December 2005.
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Robbie Fowler returns house
He mentioned: “I can see him returning to Anfield in the future.
“That might occur. Why not? He is a high participant and each membership is all the time concerned about signing good gamers.
“We tried to signal him proper till the tip.”
But a month later, Benitez was unveiling Owen’s former Liverpool teammate, Robbie Fowler, over 4 years after his shock exit.
“I can not actually imagine it is occurred once more,” mentioned the person dubbed ‘God’ by the Anfield crowd following his free switch from Manchester Metropolis.
“I am so completely happy it is horrifying.
“To journey again to Anfield was nice. To truly put pen to paper… nicely, it’s one thing that I’ve wished to occur for a very long time.”
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Why did Owen by no means rejoin Liverpool?
In an interview on Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE, Owen admitted he tried once more to return to Liverpool after leaving Newcastle.
He mentioned: “I did not go from Liverpool to Manchester United as a result of that will have been nearly unimaginable, however everybody is aware of I grew up taking part in for Liverpool within the academy and once I left to go to Madrid after which got here again house, I wished to go to Liverpool.
“As soon as I went to Newcastle… that just about broke my coronary heart in a manner as a result of I wasn’t going again to what I understand to be my membership.
“Once I completed at Newcastle it was once more a case of can I get to Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers mentioned he did not want me on the time.
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“At that time, you may have simply bought to go to whoever is the most effective accessible. As soon as I bought over that [feeling of] is everybody going to hate me and the ache of have I ruined all the things and so forth. and so forth, it was a no brainer [to join United]. I knew everybody, I performed at England with all of them, I knew Sir Alex and all the remainder of it.
“So to play in that stadium, stay at house, I used to be taking part in in the most effective workforce on the time, I had the prospect of profitable; the league, the Champions League and all the remainder of it, it was an absolute no-brainer.
“I had no doubts in any respect that was the most effective transfer career-wise to make and folks should do not forget that footballers, sure we have now loyalties, but when we will not play for them then . . . “
Owen went on to attain 17 objectives in 52 video games for Man United, profitable the Premier League title and League Cup throughout his three-year spell.
He then moved to Stoke Metropolis in September 2012, which proved to be his closing marketing campaign as an expert.