Real ready to lose Owen

[eliza0708]

Real Madrid is ready to let England striker Michael Owen return home.

Manchester United is believed to be heading the race for the star striker with an 11 million pound bid.

Already boasting a plethora of international stars, Real has signed Brazilians Robinho and Julio Baptista, forcing Owen even further down the ranks at the Bernabeu.

The 25-year-old has also been linked with his former club Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle.



A senior source at Real told the Sunday Times the club will not stand in Owen's way if a bid is received.

"Michael is popular with the fans and he is popular within the club," the source said. "But if he comes to us and says he believes the best thing for him is to leave, we will have to respect that."

"He has been a great servant to us, we will treat him with the utmost decency and respect. And in the event that he decides to go, while obviously looking out for our own interests, we will be sure to look out for his too."

Despite scoring 16 goals in his first season at Real following his move from Liverpool, Owen spent many games on the bench.

And with the World Cup less than a year away, he could decide to move on rather than face the prospect of fighting for a place with Raul, Ronaldo, Robinho and Baptista.

A transfer to Manchester United would bring Owen together with his England strike partner Wayne Rooney, although it would prove a brave move with the Liverpool fans.

Ferguson might have to sell players to finance the move, with midfielders Phil Neville and Kleberson possible candidates along with striker Louis Saha.

Arsenal could also be tempted to improve its strike power up front but manager Arsene Wenger has distanced himself from a move for Owen.

"We have not made a bid for Michael Owen," Wenger told BBC Sport. "At the moment I am not looking for a striker but there are other areas I am looking at."

Former Saints striker Peter Crouch's arrival at Liverpool makes it unlikely manager Rafael Benitez would consider taking Owen back to Anfield.

Newcastle is also in the market for a striker, but cannot offer Owen Champions League football.

SOURCE: sportal.com.


> will he leave? or stay?
will he go to MU? or CHEL? ARS maybe?

[miss N.]

I think he will leave.. but don't know to which club he will go. erm, manU? maybe.

[el_blanco]

he better leaves now. i think he's paying for what he did to liverpool. he was guaranteed in the first team in that club, but he decided to come to Madrid. what for? i don't hate him but i can't figure him out. if i were him, wouldn't it be better to be with liverpool and become a legend?

[Luna!]

If i were owen, I won't be coming back to liverpool, he's the one who wanted to leave liverpool, if he returns to anfield then he has no shame

[Toby]

Los Blancos have Soldado up one's sleeve ... so I don't mind if he goes ....

[el_blanco]

where do you think he will end up?? i don't think liverpool need him. and i've heard that some liverpool supporters don't agree to bring him back. going to man utd would be a good choice for him, but chelsea, plz do not!!! i don't want to hate him

[lucho]

morokaew said:

going to man utd would be a good choice for him, but chelsea, plz do not!!! i don't want to hate him

I've heard that Liverpool fans hate Man Utd much more than any other team from England (even Everton). So I don't think that this will be good Owen's move.

[stacie]

yeh man united are one of the biggest if not the biggest rivals of liverpool
them and everton

[Nienor]

If he went to MU I would kill myself I hate that club.

[stacie]

nienor said:

If he went to MU I would kill myself I hate that club.

hehe i know what you meen. them and everton are the wrost

[lucho]

I'v got an idea.

Owen ==> Arsenal
Henry ==> FC Barcelona
everybody's happy even Real coz they have money for Owen

[Nienor]

No! No! No!
Owen to Arsenal - YES
Henry NOT GOING to Barca!!! And he won't - he is the captain now.

Arsenal is my second fave club.

[lucho]

nienor said:

Henry NOT GOING to Barca!!! And he won't - he is the captain now.

I know I know. I've just fallen into a reverie

[eliza0708]

Owen set for Anfield return
By Matt Dickinson



LIVERPOOL ARE BRACED for days of haggling with Real Madrid as they seek to bring Michael Owen back to Anfield. The Spanish club want £16 million — twice what they paid — for the England forward, but Rick Parry, Liverpool’s chief executive, hopes to reduce it to £12 million, with the payments spread over a few years.
Formal negotiations between the clubs should start this week as soon as Liverpool have recouped some funds from the departure of Milan Baros to Aston Villa. The Czech Republic forward should move to the Midlands for about £6.5 million.



Although Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, has emphasised that a centre half is his priority, he recognises that Owen’s return to Anfield would improve his team. Although Benítez has international forwards in Fernando Morientes, Peter Crouch and Djibril Cissé, Owen’s pedigree as a proven Premiership goalscorer should ensure that he is first choice.

Benítez did not beg Owen to stay on Merseyside when he took over last summer, but by then it was apparent that the player was looking to move. Despite rumours to the contrary, the pair parted on good terms, so there are no obstacles to a deal apart from the financial restrictions that mean that Liverpool will try to drive a hard bargain — particularly having sold Owen for £8 million 12 months ago.

Liverpool had hoped to persuade Real to accept a loan deal with a view to a permanent transfer but, with Newcastle United able to offer cash for Owen, they will almost certainly have to pay now. Parry is likely to offer £6 million up front, with the rest to follow over the remainder of the player’s contract.

A return to Anfield is not the only option available to Owen, but it is by far the most attractive. England’s leading goalscorer among the present squad, who is scheduled to join up with his national team-mates today before Wednesday’s friendly against Denmark in Copenhagen, is willing to consider Newcastle, but only on loan and only if the Liverpool deal collapses.

Manchester United have registered their interest in informal talks with Owen’s representatives. Sir Alex Ferguson is a long-term admirer and the Glazer family are eager to back the manager with funds but a holding midfield player is top of the shopping list at Old Trafford before the end of the transfer window on August 31.

Owen, who was in Hungary for a friendly with Real last night, may have to be patient as the clubs negotiate. The deal may not be concluded for at least a week but Gary Lineker, the former England forward and now BBC pundit, is convinced that the player will be back in the Premiership by the end of the month. “Trust me,” Lineker wrote in his newspaper column. “Owen is coming home.”

Real’s purchase of Robinho and Júlio Baptista has all but ensured Owen’s departure and Lineker compared the player’s predicament with the end of his time in Barcelona. “Football clubs, unfortunately, have a habit of playing silly devils in such situations,” Lineker said. “No one ever told me — as I am sure they have not told Owen — that I was unwanted but their actions make it perfectly clear that is the case.

“They say you should never go back but Owen would slot straight in at a club he knows so well, and he would be returning to the European champions — hardly a step down from Madrid, whereas a move to Newcastle would seem that way.”


www.timesonline.co.uk

i hate rumours.....................................