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Michael Owen finally joins Manchester United

Michael Owen completed his shock move to Manchester United last night after being put through one of the most gruelling medical examinations in football history.

Determined to satisfy themselves that the injury-troubled 29-year-old will not spend more time in the treatment room than in training, the English champions sent him for two days of tests.

But after United's medical team gave the green light last night, the deal was confirmed.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: 'Michael is a world-class forward with a proven goalscoring record at the highest level and that has never been in question.

'Coming to United with the expectations that we have is something Michael will relish.'

Owen said: 'I know there will be people out there saying maybe the manager shouldn't have signed me. But when the first game kicks off I can do my talking on the pitch and I want to start with a bang.

'A lot has been made out of my fitness but I certainly do not think I'm injury-prone. I'm 29 and have played over 500 games at the highest levels for clubs and at international level so I can't have been on the treatment table all the time.

'I had just begun talking to other clubs when out of the blue Sir Alex phoned me and invited me to have breakfast with him, during which he told me that he wanted to sign me.

'I agreed without a moment's thought. This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I intend to seize it with both hands. I want to thank Sir Alex for the faith he has shown in me and I will repay him with my goals and performances.'

It is understood Owen's troublesome knee was examined by a specialist in London on Thursday before he arrived in Manchester yesterday morning for yet more fitness checks.

Owen began the day at the club's state-of-the-art Carrington training complex before moving to a private hospital on the outskirts of the city for a further examination.

Owen has agreed a two-year deal, with an option for another season. If Owen can stay fit and even go close to rediscovering the kind of form that earned him the Ballon d'Or in 2001, he could become a sensational piece of business.
As well as arriving on a free, Owen has accepted a low basic wage that will only rise if he earns the performance-related bonuses.

The striker is desperate to prove his doubters wrong and silence those who think he is more interested in his horse racing stables than football.

He particularly wants to demonstrate to Fabio Capello that he can no longer be omitted from the England squad.

After four difficult years at Newcastle he has his heart set on boarding the plane to next summer's World Cup in South Africa.

Ferguson must be impressed by the player's willingness to drop his basic wage from £110,000 a week to nearer £20,000.

He will also see Owen as someone who could prove an effective partner in attack for Wayne Rooney, who has expressed a desire to be given a more central role now that Cristiano Ronaldo has moved to Real Madrid.

Ferguson has looked at other strikers, including Valencia's David Villa, but the striker wants to stay in Spain. In Owen, however, United might have someone just as prolific - for a fraction of the price.

Owen arrives for Manchester United medical ahead of shock free transfer to the champions

Michael Owen was today undergoing a stringent medical before completing his free transfer to Manchester United.

The former England striker, whose contract with Newcastle expired on Wednesday, is on the brink of a sensational move to United after accepting the terms of a pay-as-you-play one-year deal with the champions.

Talks were understood to have been continuing last night and the 29-year-old, who made his name playing for United's arch-rivals Liverpool, was pictured arriving at the champions' Carrington training complex this morning.
Ferguson believes the 29-year-old is a gamble worth taking if he can stay injury-free and return to the kind of goalscoring form that made him European Footballer of the Year in 2001.
It is believed Owen could be offered as little as £20,000 a week as a basic salary but with massive performance-related bonuses which could take him close to the £110,000 a week he was on at Newcastle United.

It has been a difficult time for Owen. Dropped from the England squad by Fabio Capello and the captain of the woeful Newcastle side who were relegated at the end of last season, he was ridiculed recently when his management company advertised his credentials in a brochure sent to a number of clubs.

There was thought to have been interest from Aston Villa and Everton, while Hull City manager Phil Brown made public his wish to lure Owen to the KC Stadium.

But agent Tony Stephens may have negotiated a dream move that could propel him back into the England squad in time for the World Cup.

The move would be a free transfer as Owen's Newcastle contract expired on Wednesday.
Neither United nor Owen's management company WMG would comment last night, but it is believed he is travelling to Manchester today for a medical, having
already undergone an assessment of his troublesome knee yesterday.

The move failed to impress United fans, particularly after the club said they had received £80million in a single payment from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo and they had been linked to the likes of Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema.

The Republik of Mancunia website, under the heading ‘God No, Not Michael
Owen’, lists 10 reasons why the club
should not sign him.

One fan wrote: ‘Not in a million years. I’d rather bring Bellion back . . . than have Michael “I’m a crocked scouse” Owen.’

But Owen has proved himself an excellent strike partner to Wayne Rooney with England and Ferguson clearly considers him a decent acquisition when the financial risk is so small. The United boss declined to move for Owen when the player left Real Madrid for Newcastle four years ago in a £16million deal.

His medical record will be a worry, however, having gone down with injury or illness 16 times during his time at Newcastle. Within his first four months at St James' Park, Owen pulled a hamstring, strained his groin and broke a metatarsal. Having signed for a club record £16m, he made only 58 Premier League starts.