Former Real Madrid coach Jose Antonio Camacho says the signing of England striker Michael Owen had contributed to his decision to quit in September.

Camacho, who resigned after just four months in the post, told sports daily Marca on Wednesday that he had been unhappy at not being able to exert full control at the club.

"I didn't ask for Owen, although I said that I would not get in the way. Xabi Alonso was an option, but the priorities were (Arsenal's) Vieira and (then AS Roma player) Emerson," said Camacho.

"When I am coaching I want to organise things, and here (at Real Madrid) I could not do that as I would have liked and so I decided to leave."

Among the proposals Real Madrid turned down was for players to eat lunch at the training ground so they could work in the afternoon, he said.

Former Liverpool frontman Owen, who joined the club’s "galacticos” in*August, has scored five goals in six games after struggling to make an impact in his early weeks in the Spanish capital.

Real’s stuttering start to the season was another factor in Camacho walking away, saying he was incapable of getting the most out of an expensively assembled squad.

Camacho, who also had a 23-day spell as Real coach in 1998, says that he is unlikely to get another chance at theBernabeu.

"I don't think I will have a third opportunity to train Real Madrid," he said.