Liverpool FC Forum

welsh wizzard wrote:lando bloom you are a fool you f=cking take your ugly clock for a s=it you stupid boy.

From the Telegraph:

(McDonalds Buccaneers) have no plans to sign Michael Owen from Real Madrid, well-informed sources close to Old Trafford have told The Daily Telegraph.

Despite fevered speculation that a deal to link up Owen with Wayne Rooney was inevitable, United have joined Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool in ruling out a move for the unwanted England striker.

Speculation that United might make a move for Owen heightened at the weekend following comments by chief executive David Gill that if Sir Alex Ferguson wanted to buy a leading player then the money was available.

That was interpreted as a green light for United to buy Owen, but sources close to the club say it was a general statement indicating that the new owners, the Glazer family, had not put a block on spending.

Owen clearly wants to move from Madrid. He has not established any long-term roots in the city, does not speak the language and the arrival of two new Brazilians, Julio Baptista and Robinho, means he could now be the fifth-choice striker at Real, a long way behind the front runners, Raul and Ronaldo.

Last season Owen made only 26 starts, coming on as substitute in 19 other matches, and scoring a total of 16 goals. With the World Cup coming up he needs to be sure of a more regular place.

Even before the end of last season, approaches were made on Owen's behalf to English clubs about a possible move and Chelsea were one of the clubs sounded out but showed no interest. Arsenal's Arsene Wenger is an admirer but has said he does not consider signing Owen a priority and, in any case, might not be able to afford him.

While Real might sell Owen for around £10 million, providing them with a £2 million profit on what they paid Liverpool last season, there are Owen's considerable wages, which are believed to be near £5 million a year, to be taken into account.

Such an outlay would be a deterrent to any English club, even United where it could upset the wage structure and cause complications in the ongoing efforts to persuade Rio Ferdinand to extend his present contract, which runs out in two years' time.

There has been talk that if no English club are interested in Owen on a permanent basis then the only possibility of a return to the Premiership would be a loan to Liverpool. Yet this, too, seems unlikely and Rafael Benitez, the manager, last night declared he had no intention of exploiting his club's option to re-sign their former striker.

"I am looking for a centre-back and not a centreforward," said Benitez, who wants cover for Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypia and has already spent £7 million on Southampton striker Peter Crouch. "He [Owen] is a good player, a nice boy, but only he can talk about his future because I only prefer to talk about our own future."

Benitez also fiercely defended his club after Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said that Steven Gerrard would live to regret his decision to stay on Merseyside.

"Steven will win more trophies here, maybe soon," he said. "I like to hear Mourinho talking about us. I don't like to talk about other clubs but when people talk about us it means we are important to them - we'll be a more dangerous team next season."