The Red Devils forward, who was signed from Everton in 2004, was left on the bench for their Champions League crunch tie with Real Madrid on Tuesday - a match they went on to lose in controversial circumstances.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is looking to get rid of Rooney, who will have two years to run on his current deal in the summer - a predicament Owen believes could prove tricky.

"Sometimes when you're at the level he is at you don't have many options," he told TalkSPORT.

"If you are a mediocre player you have 20 teams in England and aboard that you can move to.

"If Wayne Rooney moves, where does he go to? Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Chelsea and PSG, there's only half a dozen teams."

The 33-year-old Owen - now at Stoke - isn't convinced that Rooney will actually leave the club at all, suggesting he has the attributes needed to bounce back from falling out of first-team favour.

"It's just speculation though," he continued. "He's been dropped for one game and I'm sure he will bounce back.

"Obviously Wayne has got to get his head down now and start recapturing his best form. He's certainly got the right attitude and ability to get back into the manager's thoughts."