The Text Jamie Carragher Sent Michael Owen After His Man Utd Debut

· GiveMeSport

Carragher probably won't thank Owen for revealing this

It’s crazy to think that after scoring 158 goals for Liverpool, helping them to win seven trophies, Michael Owen isn’t particularly liked by many at Anfield. Owen was a superstar during his playing days on Merseyside, even winning the Ballon d’Or in 2001.

But it wasn’t his move to Real Madrid in 2004 that angered Liverpool fans. Indeed, it was the decision to sign for Manchester United in 2009. It turned Owen from a hero to a villain in the eyes of many Kopites. However, the opportunity to play under Sir Alex Ferguson and alongside world-class players at Old Trafford proved simply too much for the Chester native.

While Liverpool fans may not understand that - even decades later - fellow professionals surely do. And it seems former Liverpool teammate Jamie Carragher was certainly intrigued about the work of Ferguson, who led United to 13 league titles by the time he retired, as Owen later revealed.

Owen once recalled the text message he received from Carragher after making his debut for the Red Devils - and it shows just how interested the former Liverpool defender was in the legendary manager.

“I always remember coming off the pitch for the first time and looking at my phone in the dressing room,” Owen told the Football Ramble .

> “Carragher text me - we’re big mates. It said ‘Phone me as soon as you can mate, I want you to let me know what a Fergie team talk is like’”.

Carragher probably won’t thank Owen for revealing that, and the meaning behind the text can still be understood with two opposite meanings.

Either Carragher was intrigued by the potential of following in his footsteps, or the Bootle-born star was simply trying to get in the minds of his club's fiercest rivals.

Given his history, which has been prolonged by the tit-for-tat rivalry he has enjoyed with former Red Devils' right-back Gary Neville on the Sky Sports' punditry team, the latter sounds more likely.

While Owen jumped at the opportunity to play under Ferguson in 2009, he had the chance to sign for United at the age of 12. However, he rejected his advances in order to remain with Liverpool.

“I was 12 years old in Sir Alex Ferguson’s office when he looked me straight in the eye and said: ‘Do you want to play for Man United?” Owen wrote .

> “The answer was no, because my heart was in Liverpool at that time.”

Ferguson later wrote in his autobiography: “If Michael had joined us at 12 years old, he would have been one of the great strikers. I think the lack of rest and technical development in his early years counted against him."

Despite his Red Devils' manager's verdict, it is safe to say Owen played out a glittering career, still. In his first full season in the Premier League, Owen finished as joint top scorer with 18 goals, sharing the Premier League Golden Boot.

He repeated this feat the following year and was Liverpool's top goalscorer from 1997 to 2004, earning his name as a proven talisman despite suffering from a recurring hamstring injury.

This issue caught up with him in spells at Real Madrid and Man United, but this didn't prevent his goal-getting instincts from continuing when he did take to the pitch. For the Red Devils, Owen scored 17 goals in 52 appearances. For Los Blancos, he registered 16 in 45 outings.

Read the original

People in this story

Related