Former Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson has made a Michael Owen transfer admission - and taken a cheeky swipe at Liverpool.
Owen snubbed United to sign for Liverpool aged 13, despite having spent time training with the Red Devils.
The former England international would go on to become one of the world's most potent goalscorers, and famously won the Ballon d'Or after helping Liverpool to a cup treble in 2001.
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Ferguson, who guided the Red Devils to 13 Premier League titles during his tenure, has lifted the lid on how it felt losing Owen to rivals Liverpool.
The Scotsman told the Mirror: "It was easy to follow Michael’s career from a very early age as Manchester United had him training at our training school when he was about thirteen years old.
"We were really optimistic about securing him on a schoolboy form - then the silly boy signed for Liverpool!
"We were gutted as at that stage as we reckoned he was going to make it.
"From that moment on, we watched and suffered every time he played against our youth team."
In 2009, Ferguson finally landed his man as he brought Owen to Old Trafford on a free transfer 16 years on from when the schoolboy joined Liverpool.
"When I heard that Newcastle were prepared to let him go, I acted in a flash and got him over to my house to talk about joining Manchester United," the 77-year-old continued.
"I know this may go down as a bit of blowing United’s trumpet, but I and my staff believed he improved as a player at United and he was an influence on young strikers like Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck.
"His timing when he made these penetrating runs and his composure in scoring goals was a reminder of the great Jimmy Greaves, whose side-foot finishes were pure genius.
"I can’t think of the number of times I cursed Liverpool for snatching him from under our noses! They were lucky to have him."
Michael Owen: Reboot - My Life, My Time, published by Reach Sport, is on sale Thursday 5th September in hardback, ebook and audiobook. www.reachsportshop.com
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