Michael Owen reveals Celtic transfer missed chance as ex Liverpool striker admits he's a huge Hoops fan

Michael Owen admits he would love to have worn the iconic green and white hoops of Celtic — a club close to his heart thanks to his family ties.

The legendary striker, who dazzled for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle, and Manchester United, enjoyed a glittering career capped by a Ballon d’Or win in 2001. Yet the 45-year-old, who hung up his boots in 2013 after an injury-plagued stint with Stoke City, has revealed he's always had a special affection for Celtic due to his Scottish roots.

In an exclusive interview with Record Sport , courtesy of AceOdds, he said: "I guess it purely comes down to your family, doesn't it? My dad grew up, spent a lot of time in Scotland, his mum was Scottish. My grandparents' side of the family are Glaswegian, the Donnelly family.

"You listen, you hear, you ask questions in your childhood, and as part of my dad's upbringing was Scottish and all his side of the family were huge Celtic fans. Naturally, my dad got me a Celtic shirt when I was a kid and I followed them as my team in Scotland. That's the only connection. Of course, I played against Celtic a couple of times but that's my only connection. It's my dad's side and my dad's side of the family were all big Celtic fans."

Owen was linked with a move to Glasgow's east end in 2009 when his contract at St James' Park expired. But the ex-Anfield hero ultimately plumped for a shock switch to Liverpool's arch-rivals Man United.

Asked if there was any truth in the rumours, he said: "Yeah, I would have loved to have played for Celtic. I really would. That's one thing I think. At that point in my career, I thought to myself, there were a lot of players at the time going up there, of similar ilk.

"Top players that maybe were around the 30,