Rafa confirms Owen exit

Rafa Benitez has confirmed that Michael Owen is leaving Liverpool for Real Madrid.

Rafa Benitez has confirmed that Michael Owen is leaving Liverpool for Real Madrid.

The Merseysiders' new boss claims it has been impossible for Owen to resist the lure of joining David Beckham in the Spanish capital, and he is busy reshaping his plans without the England international forward.

Antonio Nunez will head for Anfield in part-exchange, a right-sided midfielder who will provide extra cover in that area, and Benitez will look to spend some of the Owen fee on the likes of Real Sociedad's Xabi Alonso and Barcelona man Luis Garcia.

The Spanish revolution is well underway at Liverpool and more developments will occur before the weekend.

"When I arrived here, the problem of the situation was that Michael had 14 months on his contract to run," said Benitez.

"I now have three strikers.

"It's bad that Michael's gone but we have three very good forwards and I'll be looking for a solution in the future.

"I hope that Michael can play in Madrid and Nunez can play in Liverpool."

With Danny Murphy also departing, for Charlton Athletic, the English influence at the great club is waning. At least Steven Gerrard snubbed the overtures from Chelsea in order to continue leading the side from midfield.

Owen would have been available for nothing under the Bosman Ruling next year but talks over a new deal had looked to be progressing well with the striker revealing last week that he was "closer than ever" to accepting a new deal.

The Deeside-born danger man will not be meeting Patrick Vieira in Madrid as the Arsenal captain has announced he is now staying at Highbury.

118 goals in 216 league appearances is testament to the 24-year-old's goalscoring ability and his Liverpool highlights, after scoring on his debut against Wimbledon, include a match-turning double strike in the 2001 FA Cup final.