From being an Anfield icon to helping Manchester United lift the Premier League title.

It's not a journey too many in football take but it's one Michael Owen jumped at when the chance arose, knowing the Liverpool fans would hate him.

Owen completed a shock switch to Old Trafford in 2009, having left Newcastle United. The forward inherited Cristiano Ronaldo's number seven shirt and within a matter of weeks had etched his name into Manchester derby folklore with a dramatic late winner against City in a seven-goal thriller.

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But having made his name on Merseyside with Liverpool before leaving for Real Madrid, Owen's move to United further isolated him from the Anfield fans who had once adored the striker. And the England international admitted that ill-feeling impacted his decision to move to Manchester, with Everton also keen on signing him.

"By this time, I had honestly just resigned myself to the fact that Liverpool fans were going to hate me whatever I did," he said. "Would they hate me more for going to Manchester United than going to Everton? Toss a coin."

"All I could do was make a career decision with only myself and my family in mind. Knowing that I'd done everything possible to engineer a return to Liverpool, it was clear that it was never going to happen.

"Faced instead with the possibility of playing at a big club, with great facilities, in the Champions League, with players that I'd known and played with at England, it really wasn't a difficult choice at all to sign for Manchester United. I do not regret it for a second. What's more, my family was delighted for me.

"First and foremost, I was a footballer. Football was my means of earning. As such, I had an opportunity to play the game at the highest level late in my career and provide for my family at the same time. I severely doubt that many players – despite what they might say – would have turned it down.”

Owen said Nicky Butt had mentioned Sir Alex Ferguson's interest and the legendary United boss then phoned Owen asking for a chat. The then-29-year-old was nervous ahead of the meeting - taking extra care over his appearance - but a shared love of horse racing helped the conversation and Owen agreed to join.

"I hardly slept," he said. "Conscious of making a good first impression, I chose my clothes carefully and drove there early, parked in some supermarket car park half a mile from his house and sat there 15 minutes before the appointed time.

"Arriving ten minutes early was the target. I was desperate to impress him in every way. I drove to his house and pressed the buzzer.

"Obviously I knew him given our shared interest and connections in horse racing, so we probably spent more time talking about racing than football in that first meeting.

"Strangely, I don't think he ever directly said that he wanted to sign me. It was just assumed on both sides."