Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson has opened up on the moment he missed out on signing Michael Owen the first time.
Owen had been training with United's youth set-up as a 13-year-old but he decided to put pen to paper with Liverpool instead.
The striker would go on to become one of the most prolific goalscorers in Europe and picked up the Ballon d'Or award in 2001.
Ferguson eventually landed his man following a disappointing spell at Newcastle in 2009. Owen scored 17 goals in 52 appearances across three seasons at United , winning the Premier League and League Cup.
Writing the foreword in new book Michael Owen: Reboot - My Life, My Time, Fergie explained: “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.
"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, September 5, in hardback, e-book and audiobook.
Buy the book here .
