Michael Owen EXCLUSIVE

MICHAEL OWEN would have taken a £100,000-a-week pay CUT to rejoin Liverpool.

Even while Owen was in negotiations with Manchester United, efforts were made on his behalf to force an Anfield intervention.

The England striker was so desperate to return to the club where he emerged as a world-class goalscorer that he would have accepted a basic salary of just £25,000-a-week plus goal and appearance bonuses.

But Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez's doubts over Owen's form, fitness and desire to put his club before his England ambitions ensured he rejected repeated attempts to persuade him to re-sign the player he sold five years ago.

Benitez also recalled how Owen upset the Anfield faithful twice when he left in 2004 and then failed to return in 2005. The Kop boss had no intention of risking being jilted a third time by trying to hijack the United swoop.

Owen had earlier delayed a decision on his future in the forlorn hope his old club would make a move. As the doctors awaited Owen's arrival at Carrington, phone calls were being made in a bid to ignite Liverpool's interest.

Co-owner George Gillett was particularly keen to sign the 29-year-old, having first met Owen in the Colorado clinic where he underwent knee surgery after the 2006 World Cup.

But by Thursday, Sir Alex Ferguson's powers of persuasion had killed Owen's lingering Kop loyalties. Ferguson convinced him to turn his back on both the Merseyside clubs, after Everton had put together a £2.4million-a-year package.

Owen met Goodison boss David Moyes in Miami and was impressed with the Scot's plans for next season. Moyes was prepared to restructure his side to accommodate Owen and was in prime position to sign him.

Chairman Bill Kenwright was also keen on a deal, feeling it would lay down a marker of his club's ambitions.

But Owen was wary of crossing the Stanley Park divide, unwavering in his belief that he belongs on a Champions League stage and can force his way back into Fabio Capello's World Cup plans.

UNITED BOSS - Sir Alex Ferguson

Ferguson moved swiftly with a call to Owen on Wednesday morning and, by Thursday night, a £50,000-a-week contract. Owen could double that figure, though, with goals and appearances to take him close to the £125,000 he was earning at Newcastle.

Ferguson's United will relish the fact Liverpool fans will be cursing more than ever if Owen denies them future titles, because the Kop refused first option of taking the striker back.

Yet it will take only a tweak of Owen's hamstring - or the unveiling of an alternative top-class back-up for Fernando Torres - to justify Benitez's stance. Owen's recent injury record meant Rafa was cautious about taking a sentimental journey.

He is also concerned about what level of transfer resources he has at his disposal, even for bargain deals. That is unlike Fergie, who knows he can afford to make a mistake.

The Spanish boss will be relieved that a saga which began weeks after his arrival from Valencia has come to an emphatic end.

Repeated efforts by Owen's admirers to secure his return to Liverpool were visibly irritating Benitez, always unconvinced of the merits. He insisted he wanted to look to the future, not Liverpool's past.

He was upset at the timing of the striker's departure for Real Madrid in 2004, a month after Rafa became Liverpool boss, but felt more annoyed when Owen did not hold out for an Anfield move a year down the line - despite face-to-face talks and a pledge to take him six months later.

At that time, Benitez felt Owen had shown he was more concerned about being prepared for the 2006 World Cup than playing for Liverpool.

Since then, Benitez has regularly made public his resistance to signing him.

KOP BOSS - Rafa Benitez

The United transfer effectively ends four years of Owen regularly pleading to return to Anfield. There were approaches by his representatives to secure a Liverpool move every season he spent on Tyneside.

Now Owen has crossed a line no Liverpool fan will accept. The former Kop idol can expect a torrid reception after becoming the first player to join both clubs since Paul Ince.

Ironically, the summer began with Liverpool pursuing a United favourite, Carlos Tevez.

If Liverpool's forlorn pursuit of the South American temporarily crept under the skin of the Stretford End, it pales into insignificance to the back spasms felt on The Kop at the sight of Owen now at Old Trafford.

The failure even to acknowledge his Anfield past when unveiled on Friday, or appreciate the despair felt on Merseyside at the sight of him in a United shirt, hurt Liverpool fans even more.

Ferguson has never made football decisions for anything other than football reasons. But he will be cunningly aware of the wider repercussions.

There is an unavoidable sense the North West superpowers are making transfer decisions they hope will come back to haunt each other.

And while many claim Fergie has taken a gamble on Owen, it may also be argued Rafa has taken a punt in ignoring him.

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