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5th September 2016
05:35pm BST

"At every stage - every summer - I was on the phone to Carra (Jamie Carragher) telling him to find a way to get me back," Owen says.
"'Does Rafa want me?' I'd say. 'Does Kenny want me? Does Brendan want me?' It was circumstance that stopped it happening. Whenever I was available, Liverpool had too many strikers. And when Liverpool wanted me, I was injured. By the end, I wasn't the player I had been before and they simply didn't fancy me. I wasn't good enough."Owen had a chance to return to Liverpool in 2009, when his contract expired at Newcastle and the club were relegated. Hull City, Everton and United were interested, but the striker had his heart set on Liverpool. However, the club's manager ended any hope of a deal being done and Owen joined United instead.
"I spoke to Carra and tried to get (Rafa) Benitez to do something. I wanted to try to put it right somehow. "When it became clear Benitez didn't want to do a deal, I spoke again with (Alex) Ferguson. He was very positive about me. I was twenty-nine years old. Should I have decided to retire there and then?"Owen retired from football in 2013 after a season with Stoke City, he's currently a pundit with BT Sports and an international ambassador for Liverpool, much to the annoyance of some of the club's fans.
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