Owen Hargreaves to leave Manchester United on a free transfer in the summer!! He won't be offered a new contract.

Owen Hargreaves is set to leave Manchester United on a free transfer in the summer after the club decided not to offer him a new contract.

The midfielder's contract expires at the end of the season and United had been considering a one-year extension on a pay-as-you-play basis.

But the decision has been made not to renew Hargreaves' contract and he will leave the club for nothing in June after injury denied him an opportunity to return to fitness and fight for a new deal.

The 30-year-old has been dogged by injury problems since his £18 million move from Bayern Munich in May 2007. He was left out of Sir Alex Ferguson's 25-man Champions League squad last month and the feeling within Old Trafford is that it is time for all parties to move on.

Hargreaves suffered a torn hamstring just five minutes in to a surprise return to action against Wolves in November. The injury was only expected to keep him sidelined for five weeks but there is no sign that he is closing in on a comeback, with United sources adamant he will not be rushed back too early.

He has played just six minutes of football since September 2008 and had surgery on both knees after suffering problems that threatened to end his career.

United had hoped that the all-action central midfielder would one day return to full fitness but now accept they cannot wait to see if the £70,000-a-week star recovers from his injury nightmare.

The England international has made just 39 appearances in a United shirt, of which 34 came in his first season at the club as United won the Premier League and Champions League.

Hargreaves' injury record will cast doubt over his next step when he leaves the club, although MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps have previously been linked with the Canadian-born midfielder.