Michael Owen (center) is entering a lion's den of iniquity at Newcastle, which proves he's most desperate for playing time. AP

It's hard to feel sorry for people making between $10 million and $12 million a year. So I'm not even going to try. I will, however, point out the boom in soccer salaries has come to an end, thereby making a fat contract like a pair of shackles.

There are two obvious examples: Michael Owen and Alex Del Piero. Neither was wanted by his club. Owen had been pushed to the bottom of Real Madrid manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo's depth chart despite his 13 goals last season. At best, Owen was a role player for Real.

Del Piero was substituted 28 times last year and, despite still being Juventus' captain, looks destined to spend time on the bench behind David Trezeguet and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

What both these guys have in common are massive salaries coupled with a perception problem. They're good -- very good -- just perhaps not good enough to justify their paychecks, at least not in the eyes of their coaches. So they were put up for sale, publicly in Owen's case, rather more discreetly in Del Piero's case. But the end result is the same.

The big boys weren't interested in what are supposed to be two of the biggest superstars in the game. Owen ended up at Newcastle after the Magpies ponied up $28 million. Throw in his wages, signing bonus and four-year contract and, all told, Newcastle will have invested some $70 million on Owen.

For Newcastle, this might make sense. Owen's scoring record speaks for itself (though his detractors point out that he is somewhat one-dimensional). Whether it makes sense for Owen remains to be seen. Newcastle is possibly the worst-run club at board level this side of Inter Milan. How nutty is "the Toon?"

Well, consider this: Chairman Freddy Shepherd sacked legendary manager Sir Bobby Robson last year just after the transfer window closed, preventing Robson's replacement, Graeme Souness, from bringing in his own guys. Over the years, Shepherd has wasted hundreds of millions of dollars on malcontents, head cases and outright duds. He is also the same guy who, seven years ago, was filmed secretly in a Spanish brothel boasting about how he was fleecing Newcastle fans by selling them crummy, overpriced shirts and calling the women of Newcastle "dogs."

At any normal club, Shepherd would have been cut loose years ago. At Newcastle, he is still in charge. This is the kind of asylum Owen will be entering. The fact that he would even consider such a destination tells you all you need to know about his desperation, particularly in a World Cup year. He was told as much in no uncertain terms: no regular playing time, no starting spot at Germany 2006.

Del Piero doesn't have that luxury. Juventus have invested more than $100 million on him over the years. He has come to symbolize the club and is an important commercial presence, particularly in the Far East (he attracts some $10 million a year in sponsorship from Japan alone). Yet it's obvious Juve boss Fabio Capello gladly would do without him. Capello spent most of the summer playing footsies with AS Roma's Antonio Cassano, a straight replacement for Del Piero.