Michael Owen says move to Newcastle was the "only one I really regret", sparking Twitter row with Alan Shearer

Former Newcastle United striker Michael Owen says his move to the club from Real Madrid in 2005 was a “downward step” and the “one I really regret.”

Writing in his new book, My Life, My Times – serialised on Tuesday in The Daily Mirror – the former England captain says: “I should have followed my gut instincts… I didn’t want to go there – my heart was set on a return to Liverpool.”

Owen signed for £17m and was paid almost £120,000 per week, but his repeated injuries meant he made only 79 appearances in four years at St James’ Park.

Owen says he was greeted like a hero by the fans at St James’ Park, but his standing was “damaged beyond repair” after being stretchered, unconscious from the pitch against Watford.

Owen writes that Newcastle fans were guilty of a “blind delusion.”

Owen comments have sparked a Twitter row with Alan Shearer, who retweeted comments Owen made last season, in which he said, “all I did for the last six, seven years of my career, I hated it. I couldn’t wait to retire for most of the back end of my career.”

The relationship between the former teammates has not recovered since Newcastle were relegated from the Premier League in 2009.