Liverpool Chief Executive Rick Parry has spoken out about the Michael Owen deal and why he believes the deal had to be done.

"In terms of morale over losing Michael, we've moved on already. We're looking to the future. That chapter is closed and we're opening another one. We wish him well.

"He wanted to go to Real Madrid. Our new boss lost players at Valencia and his attitude is, 'If that's what the player wants then, fine, let's move on'. It wasn't a crushing blow to me. Michael had made it clear that one day he would play abroad. It just came earlier than expected.

"If we'd sold Michael [last summer] then maybe we wouldn't have qualified for the Champions League. It's easy with hindsight to say we should have sold him but it wasn't a realistic option."

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