Owen: I was Fergie’s Plan B to Real Madrid star at Man Utd

Date published: Monday 13th November 2017 7:53
Michael Owen admits he would never have moved to Manchester United back in 2009 had Sir Alex Ferguson signed his No 1 choice.
The former England striker caused something of a stir by moving to Old Trafford on a free transfer from Newcastle  that summer, with his ties to Liverpool dividing opinion among supporters of the North-West rivals.
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But Owen admits he was fortunate to find himself playing under Ferguson, with the legendary United manager prioritising a move for Karim Benzema ahead of him.
Owen told French broadcaster Canal+: “I’ve got a lot to thank him [Benzema] for.
“He might not know but I wouldn’t have gone to Manchester United if it wasn’t for Benzema because I think Manchester United wanted to buy Benzema, and he chose Real Madrid.”
Elaborating more, Owen continued: “I was told by Sir Alex Ferguson that ‘we want Benzema, but if Benzema doesn’t come then you’re coming’.
“So I was pleading with Benzema to go to Real Madrid – so thank you to him.”

Benzema joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2009 for a fee of €35million and has gone on to score 182 times in 377 games for the club.