Owen move sparked by Benzema's Real deal
Madrid's transfer market dominance forced United to offer striker shock contract
Digg
del.icio.us
Facebook
Reddit
Google
Stumble Upon
Fark
Newsvine
YahooBuzz
Bebo
Twitter
Independent Minds
MARTIN RICKETT / PA
Michael Owen (left) is all smiles after completing a medical for Manchester United yesterday
enlarge
Michael Owen revealed yesterday that Sir Alex Ferguson moved to sign him on Wednesday afternoon as the Manchester United manager realised that Karim Benzema was joining Real Madrid. Only once Ferguson had been forced to admit defeat to Madrid's remarkable financial powers for the second time this summer did he turn to the former Liverpool striker.
Owen said that he was called personally by Ferguson on Wednesday and invited to have breakfast with him on Thursday morning when he was invited to sign. Owen said: "I had just begun to talk to other clubs when out of the blue Sir Alex phoned me on Wednesday afternoon, invited me to have breakfast with him next morning during which he told me that he wanted to sign me. I agreed without a moment's thought. This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I intend to seize it with both hands."
The former England striker said that never in his "wildest dreams" did he expect to get the call from Ferguson which, after a conversation with the United manager ended in him agreeing a two-year deal yesterday. He has a basic salary of around £30,000-a-week, a big cut from his £108,000-a-week deal at Newcastle, and then a bonus system in which he is paid for goals and appearances. There will also be a supplement paid by Newcastle for this month alone.
Ferguson was one of the recipients of the digital brochure emailed to selected clubs by Owen's representatives Wasserman Group (WMG) around 12 June but it was not until the United manager learnt that he was out of the running for the former Lyons striker Benzema that he moved. With Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez already gone, Ferguson told his chief executive David Gill on Wednesday that they should move for Owen.
Sources close to the deal said that Ferguson had been considering Owen before he left for his summer holiday. Prior to Wednesday, Owen and WMG had been prepared to spend at least a month weighing up offers from different clubs, even entertaining the possibility that they might have had to wait until the end of the transfer window for the likes of Aston Villa and Everton to present an offer.
Ferguson, whose only other signing this summer has been the £15.25m spent on Wigan's Antonio Valencia, said: "Michael is a world-class forward with a proven goalscoring record at the highest level and that has never been in question. Coming to Manchester United with the expectations that we have is something that Michael will relish."
Owen admitted yesterday that it had been a "shock" when Ferguson called him "It feels great," Owen said. "When I got the call from the manager to come to meet him it was a shock but I am obviously really happy. We just talked about football really and the pros and cons of signing myself and thankfully there were more pros than cons. I left my agent with David Gill and they got the deal done."
Owen hinted that he had informal contact with Ferguson over the last few years – the United manager tried to sign him two years ago through a release clause in his Newcastle deal. "He [Ferguson] always spoke to players and I had an idea that he still thought I had something," Owen told MUTV. "I was clinging to that hope that he would want me to play for him one day.
"I had a poor spell at Newcastle but prior to that my career was very good and I am sure that at a top club like this I can reignite my career. I am sure I can score goals and be successful. It would be lovely [to be welcomed by the fans] but I'm not silly, I know there will be a few people saying the manager shouldn't have signed me.
"That gradually goes over time and as soon as the first game kicks off I can do my talking on the pitch. I am really looking forward to pre-season and once the season starts, I want to start with a bang. They are a fantastic team, right through the squad, that's why they have won so much in their careers. Hopefully I can jump on the bandwagon and score a few goals and be successful.
"I missed pre-season last year and I am pleased I will be starting at Carrington [United's training ground] from day one," said Owen. "I am now looking forward to being a United player. I am fortunate I already know so many of the players here."
Having completed a medical examination yesterday, Owen said that despite his injury problems over the last three years, he never had any doubt he would pass the medical. "I would like to think everyone was surprised at how good my medical was," he said. "I knew I would pass, I have passed them before. My fitness is fine.
"A lot is made of it and a lot will be said in the future but I don't feel I am injury-prone. I had a lot of injuries at Newcastle but there would have been a lot of people who would have got injured if they had someone jumping on their foot. I could name half a dozen players at United who have broken their metatarsal. I had injuries subsequently because I didn't get the first one right.
"I'm 29 and I have played 500 plus games at the highest level. If you play that many games you can't be on the treatment table all the time."
United, as well as Chelsea, still hold out a faint hope of signing the Frenchman Franck Ribéry but the likelihood is that he too will sign for Madrid if the Spanish club can find the funds after a remarkable spending spree. United are more likely to look at the Chile international Alexis Sanchez, currently at Udinese.
Owen Opinions: What fans are saying
The Liverpool reaction
The view from www.lfcreds.com
"Just lost his legendary status at Anfield with this move" Kenny
"I'm laughing now but it'll hurt seeing him in their shirt" nnilswerdna
"Hope he has the same effect as [he did] on another United" RedLFCBlood
*The United reaction
The view from www.manutdtalk.com
"The fact we are getting him on a free is the clincher for me. What have we got to lose?" Jazz
"Fact is, Owen isn't the player he was eight years ago" GeordieMancunian
*The Newcastle reaction
The view from www.toontastic.net
"Although I don't want to see it, I still think Owen will score goals in a good team" Sniffer
"I don't care whether he will score two or 20 goals next season – we've got far bigger matters to worry about" KingKev
View all comments that have been posted about this article.
Offensive or abusive comments will be removed and your IP logged and may be used to prevent further submission. In submitting a comment to the site, you agree to be bound by the Independent Minds Terms of Service.
- Print Article
- Email Article
-
Click here for copyright permissions
Copyright 2009 Independent News and Media Limited
Comments
Benzema was always off to Madrid and I bet you SAF knew that already for some time through contacting his agent I suppose?
Lyon only dealt with Madrid as they themselves stated.
The biggest miss will always be Ronaldinho because that should have happened but didn't.
Real Madrid have not gazumped Manchester United in nothing and you know it but unfortunately you like to fantasize everything so let me kindly put my theory forward which no one is talking about.
The sequel to the galacticos began the day Perez said he was coming back.
It was easy for him to sign Ronaldo because of what happened last year. United knew that Ronaldo would never probably sign another contract again, which meant that they would have to accept a Real Madrid bid all be it under United terms - so 80 million straight and no payments. Is that good enough for you?
Kaka was the easiest signature for Real because AC Milan need money and he would never have gone to City when they came calling in January. If AC Milan were in a strong financial position Kaka would still have been at the San Siro because he had no desire to leave. Simple
Benzema has stated over the years that Real Madrid would be his only option if he ever moved. This year it made sense because of Perez, and what he has done already in the market. I put to you that United might have had an eye on him but never bid for him because they knew what the score was. Fair enough, but how is it that United apparently got muscled out of a Benzema transfer or beaten to it, when A) Benzema didn't want to come and B) United never made a formal offer? If you consider for a moment that United had enough time to buy Benzema, they could have concluded a deal at any time for what ever the going price was. They didn't because in Wayne Rooney you have a player equal and better to Benzema. That is not the striker that we needed, although some would argue otherwise. And remember SAF paid the same sort of money for Rooney - so the point in principle was simple: would he want a Rooney clone or leave the genuine article just by himself?
As far as Ribery is concerned, again sensationalist reporting on a lot of the newspapers. As Ribery said it is Madrid or nothing which leads me to this point:
No one has picked up on the point that Perez has probably been in contact with all the players that he has signed or is about to sign, a long time ago. It's apparently clear that Real have gone mad in spending and that maybe a shock to a lot of people, but that has been easy because "the spectacular project," that Perez so eloquently put it was put into place a while ago even before he became President. I would also argue that the Real board of directors had no intention of offering anyone else the job because Perez knew that all that he offered would end up happening - and it has happened. PLus his rival for the Presidency dropped out as soon as it had begun. No sweat then , because I bet you someone closely associated to Perez or any any one from the board for that matter would have told them of what Perez had lined up. Makes sense, yes?
May I point that Real Madrid work in ways many people do not understand. Where is Blatter by the way? Isn't he disgusted, that slaves are being bought out for so much money within this one particular time? Isn't he disgusted of one teams relentless distortion of the transfer market? Isn't he disgusted now that Real are building a team financed by loans, debt and a small proportion of profit? He is very turned on when the Premier league are doing it, but when Real do it, what's the difference?
Now that is journalism, and you know it. As far as Owen's move is concerned, that decision was simple. He is a striker that needs to prove a point. He is also a world class player who could teach a Macheda, a Wellbeck and even a Rooney to a certain extent a thing or too. And we have been down this road before, most notably with Sheringham and Larsson recently. Remember when SAF was after Di Canio and Harry wouldn't budge? Yes in SAF, their is a reason for this so called madness. And it's simply because it is not madness at all, it is a football decision.