I don’t think there are many players – past, present and probably future – who wouldn’t regard a move from Real Madrid to Newcastle United as a step down.

That is in no way, shape or form being disrespectful to the English team, which I happen to like and which I sincerely hope regains its long lost place as one of England’s big clubs.

I’m just stating what is, given the current realities of the two clubs, an obvious fact.

Real have been crowned champions of Europe on 13 occasions, have won more than 30 domestic titles and the Spanish Cup 19 times.

While Newcastle have won a healthy six FA Cups, they have never won a proper European trophy, and the last of their four league titles came nearly 100 years ago.

Real are rightly considered a giant, not only domestically but in European and even world terms. Newcastle have long been regarded as a sleeping giant that simply refuses to wake up.

On that basis, a player moving from Madrid to Newcastle is almost inevitably going to view it as ‘stepping down’, which is precisely how Michael Owen describes his 2005 transfer in his new autobiography.

Was he wise to say it now? Probably not. Especially as he is currently very much in the public eye thanks to his role as a television pundit. But he is only expressing his opinion, one which it is very hard as a neutral to disagree with.

However, that hasn’t stopped Newcastle fans and former players from slamming Owen on social media for his comments. There has even been a rather unseemly slanging match on Twitter between Owen and Alan Shearer, the former Newcastle centre-forward who undoubtedly bleeds black and white stripes.

Of course, the real problem here is that Owen had a very strained relationship with the Newcastle fans almost from the off. Despite being paid a rather handsome £120,000 a week (huge money back then) he hardly ever performed for Newcastle.

And that was primarily because the striker was pretty much a broken player when he arrived in the North East of England and spent more time on the treatment table having his hamstrings glued back together than scoring goals for his new team.

In fact, so strained did his relationship with the fans become that he was actually booed by Newcastle fans when he was being stretchered off for concussion on one occasion. Which is, let’s face it, a bit harsh.

He spent more time on the treatment table having his hamstrings glued back together than scoring goals for his new team

This new book clearly shows Owen is still bearing a grudge about his time at St James’s Park.

Then again, I imagine the Newcastle fans are still pretty bitter about spending millions on a player who was not only perpetually injured but, as we now know, didn’t really want to be there in the first place.

All things considered, Michael might have been better off letting sleeping dogs lie. Then again, that wouldn’t have sold many books now, would it?

Millions of reasons for no regrets

Going from a player who was unhappy with a big move to one who wasn’t – namely Alexis Sanchez, who said he ‘doesn’t regret’ his move to Manchester United.

The Chilean signed for Inter on a season-long loan last week after 19 months at Old Trafford where he had gradually morphed from a deadly forward into the world’s most expensive bench warmer.

Despite enduring a torrid time in Manchester and suffering massive damage to his reputation as a world-class player, Sanchez is not sad that he made the move from Arsenal.

“United were growing at the time, they were buying players to win something. I wanted to join them and win everything. I don’t regret going there,” he said.

Fair enough, I guess.

Although I imagine the £400,000-a-week he was paid to watch his new team from the comfort of the bench went some way towards easing any regrets…

It’s just not cricket

The thorny subject of transgender athletes taking part in women’s sport has raised its controversial head again... this time in a completely new sporting arena.

There have been several controversial cases in recent months of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports where their birth gender has given them an unfair physical advantage over women who were born women.

Sports where we have seen these examples include athletics, volleyball and even cycling. Well, now we can add cricket to that list.

Maxine Blythin, a man who identifies as a woman, recently signalled her ambition to one day play for the England woman’s team.

However, her career stats show just how wrong this would be.

Currently Maxine plays for both a man’s team and a woman’s team at (not entirely sure how that is logical or acceptable to be honest, but it is what it is).

For the man’s team she averages 15 runs. However, for her woman’s team she averages 129. In a recent match Maxine made 145 not out for her ladies’ team while the opponents on that occasion only made 155 runs in total.

So, in essence, as a man she is a relatively poor cricketer. But as a woman she is an absolute superstar who is more than likely destined to make it all the way to the top of the sport.

And I just can’t see that as fair, no matter how you dress it up.

Once again, it all boils down to sex at birth which, in my opinion, is the only realistic, sensible and fair way to decide whether a person is allowed to play in a male of female version of any sport.

It’s hard – and possibly even a bit discriminatory in the eyes of the law – to deny transgender women access to women’s sports. I get that.

But allowing them to compete is massively unfair on the millions of biological women who dedicate themselves tirelessly to their sports in an effort to become the best.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade