It would have been `financial suicide` for Newcastle to keep me, claims Owen

London: Michael Owen claims it would have been "financial suicide" for Newcastle to have kept him when they were relegated from the Premier League in 2009.

After an injury-hit four years on Tyneside, the striker went on to sign for Manchester United, where he often struggled for game time. The former England man has come in for criticism from Magpies fans ever since his time at St James` Park, but insists he was never offered the chance to help the club back into the top flight. He tweeted: "Newcastle fans, following my Football Focus interview, plenty of you tweeting me saying you don`t blame me for getting injured but for leaving when we got relegated.” "Despite the club saying they did, they didn`t ever offer me a new contract despite them putting it in the press that they did. How could they when they had just been relegated? It would have been financial suicide.” "I`ve seen it a million times; a club will blatantly lie to their fans to take the moral high ground leaving the player with no leg to stand on.” "I`ve taken the stick for years which is fine but you really don`t know half of it. All will be revealed one day." Goal.com