The footballer formerly known as the Boy Wonder

This is an image that I'd never thought I would see.

Firstly, when Owen was in his pomp in his early years, there was no way Liverpool were going to sell him to their bitter rivals United. Secondly, when he left Real Madrid, his contributions were so sporadic and his injuries so numerous, there was no way to justify the sort of high wages he was getting.

Well, it's apparent that Sir Alex thought differently.

Just 4 days ago, I was saying to a few friends that if Michael Owen was serious about resurrecting his football career, he should do what Louis Saha did and accept a pay-as-you-play contract. None of the big clubs were going to look at him if his wage demands were high due to his injury record and recent form.

Quite frankly, I thought that Owen's problems stemmed as much from a lack of motivation as anything else. Heck, I even compared Owen to Rooney who would play football for free.

Talk about the Red Devil.

For the first time in many years an ex-Real Madrid player is joining United, albeit via a 4 year hiatus in Newcastle. In the meantime, United have sold Beckham, Heinze, Van Nistelrooy and Ronaldo to Madrid. Talk of United as a feeder club for Real Madrid is not exactly exaggerated.

Anyway, I agree with the reasoning behind this signing.

Owen isn't the player he used to be but that doesn't necessarily mean that he's not good enough. If fit and motivated, I think that he would definitely be much better than he's been the past 4 years. And it's not like he's expected to be in the first eleven.

And since there was no transfer fee, the pay-as-you-play deal makes this a low-risk bet with a potentially big payoff.

4 days ago when I made my observations about Owen, I thought that there was a slight possibility that Owen would do a pay-as-you-play deal for the sake of his career. I just never thought that it would be for Manchester United.