Michael Owen has revealed he would look to stay in the Premier League if he was not kept on by Manchester United.
Man Utd striker identifies early injury as career turning point
Michael Owen has revealed he would look to stay in the Premier League if he was not kept on by Manchester United, as he wants to finish his playing career at the highest level.
The 32-year-old striker will be out of contract in the summer and is waiting to see whether he remains a part of Sir Alex Ferguson's future plans.
He has loved his time at Old Trafford since arriving in 2009 and has made it clear he would like to stay, but otherwise he would be keen on joining another top-flight club.
While he hopes to carry on playing for another three years, Owen would prefer not to take up a challenge in a lower division and could then pursue other interests such as media work when he finally hangs up his boots.
"As long as I'm wanted at a good level I will play on, but part of that is in my hands and part isn't. I'll wait to see what the manager says on that," he said.
"If it happens, great, we'll talk about it. If not, I'll try to stay at a high level. I wouldn't drop out of the Premier League.
"I want to stay at the top level or look at other markets, but I have four children and they're settled in school and that's something to weigh up.
"There are a couple of possibilities when I've finished and media might interest me. Gary Neville is a breath of fresh air and has almost encouraged me to do it.
"I get excited when it's half-time now because he's so intelligent and brings something new to it."
Compromised
Owen is currently working his way back from a thigh problem that has kept him on the sidelines since November.
His fitness record has been a recurring topic of discussion over the past few years and Owen has identified an injury he suffered as a 19-year-old as the pivotal moment in his career, saying he would undoubtedly have become England's all-time leading scorer if he had stayed fit.
The turning point Owen is recalling came at Elland Road in 1999 when he fell to the turf whilst playing for Liverpool with a badly damaged hamstring, something the striker says he has had to compensate for ever since.
'You've got three hamstrings and one was just totally ruptured," he said.
"It should be right the way down but one bit starts there, attaches there and the rest of it attaches there. I've got no hamstring in the middle. I'm basically running on two hamstrings on my right leg and three on the other.
"That injury has probably changed my whole career. I've been compromised from the age of 19.
"Every specialist says the same thing. It goes from one and then you compensate and it goes to the other one, and then to the groin, and then a double hernia and then on to this (his current thigh injury).
"If I'd still been in one piece from the World Cup and gone through my career, what type of player would I have been? No doubt about it, if I hadn't had as many injuries I would have been the all-time leading scorer for England."
