Manchester United striker Michael Owen has hit back at the Newcastle supporters who abused him during last night's goalless draw at St James' Park.
Owen was disappointed by the reaction to his arrival as a substitute for Nani after 81 minutes. Owen said on Twitter: "Got a poor reception off the home fans which was disappointing. Was desperate to score!"
He added: "Knew I would get booed as that's what a lot of fans do but if they knew the facts then they may have a different opinion."
Owen, 31, joined Newcastle from Real Madrid for £16million in 2005 and scored 30 goals in 79 appearances in an injury-hit four years on Tyneside.
The England international was unable to prevent Newcastle being relegated to the Championship in 2009 and left the club that summer to join United on a free transfer.
Owen added on Twitter: "From what most of you Newcastle fans are saying you should be pleased I left the club! If i had known that earlier I could have left sooner!
"For the record, I tried my best in every game for Newcastle. Under KK [Kevin Keegan] I played well and i'll never forget the 2 I scored against Sunderland [on 20 April 2008].
"When I meet Newcastle or Liverpool fans they all respect what I've done for their clubs. In stadiums it changes, 1 boo and the rest follow. By the way, im not looking for sympathy. As long as my family don't boo me when I walk through the door I couldn't care less!!!"
The result meant United missed the chance to open up a nine-point gap at the top of the Premier League table - with second-placed Arsenal playing Tottenham tonight.
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Owen added: "Disappointing result but credit to Newcastle, they played well and put us under plenty of pressure especially in the first half
an hour."
