Michael Owen will join David Beckham at Real Madrid this season.
Owen seals Real deal
Saturday, 14 August 2004.
England striker Michael Owen has completed his move from Liverpool to Real Madrid after passing a medical yesterday.
Owen, 24, is signing for the nine-time European Cup winners in a move which is likely to see Liverpool £8m plus Spanish midfielder Antonio Nunez.
Owen, who joins his England captain David Beckham at the club, is to be officially unveiled at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu later today.
"I was very happy with Michael and I wanted him to stay. The problem was he only had a year left on his contract," said new Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez.
"Real Madrid started talking with his agent and in the end it was an impossible situation to control.
"The money from his sale will be used to balance the team.
"We still have good forwards here and a good team. We did our best to keep him but, as I say, in the end it was a difficult situation for us."
He added: "I talked with him a lot of times and the only thing I can say is I wish him all the best."
Michael Owen Factfile
Nationality: England (60 caps, 26 goals)
Date of Birth: 14 December 1979
Place of Birth: Chester
Height: 177 cm
Weight: 69 kg
|
Year |
Club |
Apps |
Goals |
|
1996/97 |
Liverpool |
2 |
1 |
|
1997/98 |
Liverpool |
36 |
18 |
|
1998/99 |
Liverpool |
30 |
18 |
|
1999/00 |
Liverpool |
27 |
11 |
|
2000/01 |
Liverpool |
28 |
16 |
|
2001/02 |
Liverpool |
29 |
19 |
|
2002/03 |
Liverpool |
35 |
19 |
|
2003/04 |
Liverpool |
29 |
16 |
|
2004/05 |
Real Madrid |
0 |
0 |
Englishmen Abroad