Michael Owen said that he will definitely leave Newcastle United this summer and will be prepared to move abroad if a deal with a Premier League club cannot be agreed. "I can't see me staying at Newcastle," Owen said. "I'm still a Newcastle United player but only for a matter of weeks."

The out-of-contract former England striker was linked this morning with Hull City, so far the only Premier League team to express an interest in the 29-year-old. It is unlikely Owen will join the Tigers, and he has been linked with Aston Villa and Everton. "It remains to be seen where I am going to go. There are plenty of clubs that would interest me," he said. "There has been a lot of interest from abroad and quite a bit from home as well, but obviously the Premier League is where I feel I belong."

Owen says he's used to being written off by critics. "I don't know why I should get used to it, but I suppose I have," he said. "When I scored a goal in the World Cup as an 18-year-old, people six months later were writing me off saying, 'It's a one-off.' Then you score a hat-trick against Germany in Munich and win five trophies in a year with Liverpool and a year later, they will write you off. I will come back, I will play well and score goals and do all these things once more. Everyone will keep quiet for six months, and then I will have two or three bad games and they will say, 'He's about to turn 30, his legs are going.' There will be something, there always is -- this country is renowned for it. Someone will always criticize you, no matter what. If I let that affect me, I would never be where I am today. Yes, I would prefer people to say nice things about me because it's not like I've murdered anyone or something."

 

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