Owen 'won't shy away from celebrating at Anfield'

Michael Owen insists he will “celebrate joyfully” without feeling guilty should he score for Newcastle against his former club Liverpool on Boxing Day.

Owen left Anfield in 2004 to join Real Madrid but after one season in Spain, decided to return to England. A move back to Merseyside was favoured by the player but it was ultimately Newcastle who paid Madrid’s asking price.

Owen has fond memories of his time at Liverpool but insists he will not feel “guilty or embarrassed” if he scores in front of the fans who once adored him - nor will he try to rub salt in the wounds.

“I can already sense a hubbub around my return to Anfield on Boxing Day, although knowing Alan Shearer he will probably overshadow it by breaking Jackie Milburn’s goalscoring record for Newcastle,” Owen said in his column for The Times.

“It is bound to be a strange day because of my long association with Liverpool, although the Kop has welcomed back plenty of old boys. I am sure they will understand that I will be 100% committed to the other team.

“Oddly enough, I remember a conversation with Jamie Carragher a while back when we saw a player looking downcast after scoring against his old club. I don’t think either of us could understand that and, if I score, I will celebrate as joyfully as I did at West Ham United last Saturday.

“I won’t shy away or feel guilty or embarrassed, but nor will I be running over to the Liverpool bench and sticking two fingers up. Why should I? Rafael Benítez was very decent and straightforward when I left for Real Madrid and, in August, he attempted to buy me back. Why should I hold anything against him or anyone else at Anfield?”

The England striker also took the opportunity to make it clear he did not “snub” Liverpool to choose Newcastle instead.

“I don’t have a short fuse but one thing guaranteed to make my blood boil is when Liverpool fans ask me why I snubbed them when I returned to England. There were no snubs on either side. The deal did not happen and both sides have got on with things.

“Looking back on those mad few weeks, the one thing that no one can say about me is that I was not up front and honest. I had narrowed it down to three options and, all the way through, I made it plain exactly where they stood. As I said at the time, Liverpool were my first choice, Newcastle my second. The third was staying at Real.

“I had to look after my England place and I had to look after myself. I would always prefer to be playing rather than twiddling my thumbs. The buzz from playing is irreplaceable. Every footballer wants to feel valued and I have had that in spades from the Newcastle people.

“They understood why Liverpool was my first choice. I had spent more than a decade there and I did think I would be going back when I met Rick Parry and Benítez just before the transfer deadline.

“We had discussed the wages and all the nitty-gritty of a contract, so I have no doubts that their interest was genuine, whatever you may have heard. But it was difficult for them because they had sold me for £8.5million and were being asked to pay considerably more to take me back. They had to make their own financial decisions.”