Michael Owen has revealed that his return to Liverpool was scuppered because the Reds were in the process of signing David N'Gog.
The striker pushed for a move to Anfield when he returned to England in 2005 and then tried once again upon his release from Newcastle four years later.
But Rafa Benitez, who still had Fernando Torres leading his attack, was looking to bolster his options by signing N'Gog.
The Frenchman arrived for £1.5m from PSG and scored 19 times in 94 appearances.
Owen ended up going to Manchester United in a move that was criticised by some given the rivalry between the Red Devils and his boyhood club.
But he revealed on the Savage Social Podcast that a transfer back to Liverpool was always curtailed for one reason or another.
He said: "Liverpool had put in an £8m bid to bring me back (in 2005), but Newcastle came in and put £16m on the table.
"The Real Madrid president at the time said if I wanted to go back to the Premier League they would let me, but w can't let you go to Liverpool unless they match Newcastle's bid.
"But there was such a big discrepancy in the bids that they just couldn't let me go. So no matter how much I said 'no way am I going anywhere bar Liverpool' i just couldn't do anything.
"So I signed for Newcastle but I got it in my contract that I could sign for Liverpool in each summer for a set fee.
"When I was leaving Newcastle the first thing I did was ring Carra and said speak to the manager, and he got back to me and said he was already signing someone. I think it was David N'Gog at the time."
Owen went on to score 17 goals in his three years at Old Trafford before spending a year at Stoke where he called time on his career.
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