Owen could quit football

The 30-year-old is in the final season of a two-year contract at Old Trafford and no talks have taken place over a new deal.

Owen, who is currently out with a hamstring injury, said he had no intention of playing for a lesser club.

He said: "I would honestly love to stay but you will have to ask the manager about the long term. I could score at this level for many years and would love it to be at a top club like United.

"Whether I would want to be dropping down to a poorer Premier League team, I don't know.

"Yes I could score goals but I would probably get less opportunities and less enjoyment. I just don't feel my game is suited to a team that is really struggling. I won't drop down leagues."

Owen's career has been blighted by a succession of injuries, and he has been surpassed in the pecking order of United strikers by Dimitar Berbatov and Javier Hernandez.

The former England striker has scored just four Premier League goals in 23 appearances since moving to Old Trafford in July 2009, though he endeared himself to United fans by scoring a dramatic winner in the derby against Manchester City last September.

Owen, who had been due to face Wolves in the Carling Cup on Tuesday, said of his new injury:  “I had a tight groin quite a while ago and then I trained for a week in preparing for the Wolves game, but had a setback in training with a different muscle injury, so unfortunately that is going to rule me out for a few weeks as well.”