I had a transfer agreement to leave Newcastle United & join Liverpool - now both fans boo me everywhere I go

Owen was at the height of his career during his time at Liverpool, winning the Ballon D’Or in 2001 at age 22. After scoring 158 goals in 297 games for The Reds, Owen left to join Spanish giants Real Madrid.

But the former England international lasted just one season at the Santiago Bernabéu before returning to the Premier League with Newcastle United. Owen has since made it no secret that it was his desire to return to Liverpool over Newcastle and even had a clause in his contract with The Magpies that would allow him to re-join the Merseyside club.

Ultimately a deal never materialised and Owen’s spell at St James’ Park was plagued by injury before ending in relegation. At that point, Owen was out of contract at Newcastle and free to join any club as a free agent.

And of all the clubs, he ended up joining Liverpool’s fierce rivals Manchester United. It was a move that saw him become an unpopular figure on both Tyneside and Merseyside, with both Newcastle and Liverpool fans routinely booing Owen when he featured in Premier League matches against them.

After one being a hero at Liverpool, Owen admitted he is ‘not loved’ anymore.

Reflecting on his career, Owen told The Telegraph: “The moment I chose to go to Real Madrid I lost control of my career and what the perceptions of it are.

“I don’t love going to Anfield now because I know I am not loved back. I tend to only go when I am working.

“It’s not that I dread going but, for a long time, I used to bury my head when driving back to the academy to see friends. I have told myself since, ‘I should not have been feeling like that’.

“People say ‘It was because he signed for Manchester United’. But the whole world knows there has been some history rewritten there.”

Despite wanting to return to Anfield throughout his career, Owen felt the animosity directed at him from Liverpool supporters came during his time with Newcastle.

“There was resentment directed at me before then when I played for Newcastle,” he added. “Even though I had a clause in my Newcastle contract that I could re-sign for Liverpool every summer.

“The Manchester United aspect is now an easier stick to beat me with but, when I came back to Anfield for the first time as a Newcastle player, there were a few hundred, possibly a thousand supporters, booing me.

“I can’t forget how I, my parents, and my former Liverpool team-mates felt. Everyone who understood and appreciated the reality of the situation was disappointed on my behalf.”

Owen spent four seasons at Newcastle, scoring 30 goals in 79 matches for the club. He then scored 17 goals in 52 games for Manchester United before ending his career with Stoke City in 2013.