Soccer: Owen now a $180,000-a-week player

Michael Owen has signed a new contract with Liverpool which will keep him at the soccer club until 2005.

"I am delighted to sign this new contract," the 21-year-old England international, one of Europe's most coveted strikers, said yesterday. "There's never been a thought in my mind about any club other than Liverpool."

A former Liverpool trainee, he has scored 92 goals in 172 games for the club.

The new deal is believed to be worth more than £50,000 ($183,000) a week, making him one of the highest-paid players in English football.