02 August 2005

Please help me understand #2 - Michael Owen only worth £12m

Can anyone explain to me or point me in the direction of how I can
understand this better?

Michael Owen is IMHO a very good footballer. He has scored some
spectacular goals at the highest levels, and is a regular and
dependable goal scorer. He is still young (25), and has been
relatively fit. I can understand that Real Madrid got a bargain last
year when they bought him, as he had just one year left on his
contract. He has performed well for Real, at least according to the
stats I've seen. So, I cannot understand now how he is valued at
"just" £12m. It is a lot less than players like Rio Ferdinand,
Wayne Rooney, Beckham, and countless others. As an Evertonian, it
does not come easy for me to rank a former Liverpool player highly,
but I do (and Gerrard too). Why don't loads of clubs want him? Are
there issues about his Real contract? Does he have a lot of say in
where he goes, therefore limiting the number of clubs who can bid,
and therefore the price? Does his "quieter" life limit his income
from being a brand?

I'm not saying £12m isn't an obscene amount of money for someone
(IMHO it is), it's just that it seems a much lower obscene amount
than other comparable players have fetched).

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