Nicky Butt has opened up on a phone call he received from Sir Alex Ferguson that wasn’t quite what he thought it would be aboutThis article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Nicky Butt (R) and Michael Owen (L) during their time together at Newcastle United(Image: AMA/Corbis via Getty Images)
Former Newcastle United captain Nicky Butt has opened up about the time he thought Manchester United were about to try and re-sign him from the Magpies.
But it turned out a phone call from Sir Alex Ferguson was him vetting Butt’s former Newcastle team-mate Michael Owen rather than trying to re-sign the former Red Devils midfielder.
Butt joined Newcastle in the summer of 2004 and spent six seasons at St James’ Park, before leaving in the summer of 2010 after captaining the Magpies to the Championship title in the 2009/10 season.
Prior to joining Newcastle, Butt had a highly successful time at Manchester United, coming through the club’s academy to win 15 major trophies including their famous treble in the 1998/99 campaign.
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In the summer of 2009, after Newcastle’s relegation from the Premier League, Butt received a phone call from his former United manager and he thought it was to discuss a potential return to Old Trafford.
But it turned out Ferguson wanted to discuss the merits of signing Owen, who had just left Newcastle on a free transfer after a highly disappointing spell on Tyneside. It was a controversial move, with Liverpool fans turning on their once-hero for joining their bitter rivals.
“When Newcastle got relegated, Michael was out of contract so he was officially free,” Butt said on his The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast with former United team-mate Paul Scholes and comedian Paddy McGuinness.
“I got a phone call and the only time my phone ever rings when it is a withheld number is when it is the manager, Sir Alex.
“So my phone goes and I’m thinking: ‘He’s coming back in for me here and I’m going back to United’.
“I said hello and you always know when the manager is on the phone because he always has a cough first and you rewind back to getting b——-d but he goes: ‘How you doing?’
“And he was going around the houses and I’m thinking: ‘Come on, get to it. Tell me you want me to come back’. And he says: ‘Talk to me about Michael Owen’, and I thought: ‘For f—s sake’.
“He was asking if he still had what it takes and I said: ‘Yeah, he is an unbelievable finisher, he doesn’t have the legs he used to but it is a no-brainer, he will score you goals and he is out of contract’.
“I phoned Michael up and said: ‘Get on your phone’. He asked why and I told him Sir Alex wants to sign you. So if you talk about chats, I was part of the chat for Michael going to United.”
Owen ended up moving to Old Trafford on a free transfer. He spent three years at the club, but made just 31 appearances. However, he claimed Premier League and League Cup winners’ medals.
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