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| Owen completes Man United move |
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Sunday, July 05, 2009
MANCHESTER: Former European Footballer of the Year Michael Owen has joined English champions Manchester United on a two-year contract, the club announced here on Friday, in a remarkable turnaround for the injury-prone striker.
England forward Owen, 29, a free agent after his Newcastle contract expired last week, underwent a medical at a Manchester hospital on Friday before returning to United’s Carrington training ground to complete the shock deal.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who has seen both Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez leave Old Trafford in the close season, insisted signing Owen did not represent a gamble on his part. The capture of the 29-year-old striker is effectively a risk-free move by the United manager.
Owen has joined the club on a free transfer with British media reporting the contract is based heavily on incentives. It has been reported that Ferguson has signed a pay as you play deal with Owen, whose weekly wage at Newcastle was believed to have been as high as 120,000 pounds.
Owen, who has scored 40 times in 89 appearances for his country. He had a single season at the Bernabeu where he failed to hold down a first team place amongst the “galacticos”, before moving on to Newcastle in 2005 who were relegated to the Championship in May.
Owen’s time at St James’ Park was blighted by a litany of injuries, including foot, concussion, knee, thigh, groin, ankle and calf problems.
Owen, who has fallen out of favour under the country’s Italian manager Fabio Capello, will have been upset by the negativity directed at him during a disappointing four-year spell at Newcastle.
Ferguson is clearly hoping to tap into the player’s determination to prove the doubters wrong and England, who are in pole position to qualify from their group for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, could also benefit from the move.
Renewing his old international partnership with Rooney at Old Trafford represents the perfect chance for Owen to bang inthe goals that may persuade Capello to recall him to the England fold in time for a trip to next year’s finals.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
