Liverpool veteran Jamie Carragher admits he told former teammate Michael Owen to reject a move to Real Madrid when they came knocking.

Carragher wrote in the Daily Mail: "Michael and I were rooming in America during Liverpool's pre-season tour when he told me that Madrid had made him an offer and he was thinking seriously about it.

"Liverpool had just signed Djibril Cisse and Milan Baros had returned from Euro 2004 as the winner of the Golden Boot. Michael felt the time was right to pursue a fresh challenge. I told him he was making a mistake, that Madrid were a football club rife with politics and he wouldn't play.

"They had Raul and Ronaldo, who always played, and to be a success at Madrid, you had to be more than just a goalscorer but Michael wouldn't be moved. He thought he was the best and would become a success in Spain."