Michael Owen warns Gareth Bale over Real Madrid move

Michael Owen has claimed a move to Real Madrid is not as rosy as it sounds.

Former England striker Michael Owen, who retired this summer, has warned Gareth Bale that a move to Real Madrid may not be as rosy as it sounds.

Owen, who got 13 goals in 36 appearances for the Los Blancos, wrote in ‘Off the Record’, his autobiography: ‘[It] was murder. For three-and-a-half months, Louise, Gemma and I were in a businessmen’s hotel in a quiet area where there were no parks for our daughter to run around.”

“[The changes are] huge,’ said Owen. “I underestimated that when I went to Real Madrid, certainly from a family point of view. From a football point of view, I think Bale would do particularly well. But I think for any player going from these shores to Spain, it is a lot different to how you first imagine it.”

When asked on BBC 5 Live’s Sportsweek how many changes he would have made to his time at Real, Owen replied, “How long have you got?”

“Off the pitch, it’s very difficult. The Spanish culture is a very easy way of life; there’s a slow pace to it.”

“When you get over there, you want to move into a house and get settled, get your wife happy, your kids happy and your family and everyone else happy, and you’re trying to change as well, but unfortunately you’re stuck in a hotel for five months.”

“The legal system and all these things to buy a house are so slow. We wanted to do it as quick as we could, but I was in a hotel for five months with a young child.”

“I felt awful leaving for work at 10 every morning. Coming back at 1 pm, I’d often find them bored to tears. So we went out and about in Madrid, locating the parks and all the landmarks. Even then, it would be lights out for Gemma by 7.30pm, and Louise and I would tip-toe round in the pitch black.”

Owen also revealed he was unable to make friends at the Spanish capital because he couldn’t speak Spanish . Back at Liverpool, he had been ‘one of the jokers, an organiser, a key member of the card school’.

Owen said: “In the darker moments, I missed my family, my house, my old team-mates, the golfing, my dogs, the whole English package, even the rain.”

“Right from the start of the 2004-05 campaign, when I arrived at the world’s most famous club, I knew inside that I wanted to come home after one season. That feeling only intensified the longer I was in Spain.”

Owen moved to Real Madrid when he was 24, the same age as Bale is now. Tottenham have reportedly put a £100 million price tag on Bale to scare off potential suitors, but Real Madrid believe they can sign Bale for £85 million.