As if the eye-watering £16m fee Newcastle paid Real Madrid for the luxury of paying Michael Owen's medical bills wasn't difficult enough to swallow in hindsight, the fact that he cost the club a further ridiculous amount in wages is jaw-dropping. Derek Llambias admitted the club had offered him improved terms to stick around:
"Under Kevin Keegan's management he was offered a one-year extension at £140,000 a week which he did not take. He was already on £133,000. His time here cost £40-odd million, about £1.3m per goal."
You can see why Freddy Shepherd thought the contract was justified: Owen had been identified as the perfect replacement to Alan Shearer - who even offered up his famous number nine shirt to his younger compatriot - and it wasn't almost like the money involved would help force Owen into becoming a legend. Sadly - and somewhat inevitably - fate had different intentions, and though his goal ratio was okay, especially for a crocked striker - he simply didn't justify even a fraction of the money he was given. Incredibly, a magnanimous Owen still seems to think he was worth all of the money. But then he would.
