Martin Odegaard finally agrees to Real Madrid move.
Real Madrid have reached an agreement to sign 16-year-old Norwegian forward Martin Odegaard from Stromsgodset. Odegaard will be presented to the media at a news conference on Thursday, the club said. Real did not disclose the details of the financial terms but Spanish media reported that they had paid around 3m euros. Odegaard made his debut for Norway as a 15-year-old in August and had been linked with many of Europe’s top clubs. A club statement read: “Real Madrid CF and Stromsgodet Football have reached an agreement for the transfer of Martin Odegaard”. The player will arrive in Spain tomorrow to undergo a medical and sign the contract.Manchester United,Liverpool, Arsenal,Manchester City and Bayern Munich were also said to be interested in Odegaard, who will apparently move straight into the Real first team. Odegaard is widely known to be a Liverpool supporter but despite reported interest from the club, he has chosen to move to the European champions, where he will reportedly wear the number 16 shirt.
He is expected to begin his career in the Real Madrid B team, which is coached by France legend Zinedine Zidane and competes in the third tier of Spanish football. Odegaard came to prominence last year when he became the youngest player to appear and score in the Norwegian Premier League. He scored five goals and contributed seven assists in 23 appearances for Stromsgodset. Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has previously described him as “a kid with talent and personality”.
In October, winning his second cap for Norway, Odegaard, then aged 15 years and 300 days, became the youngest player in European Championship history when he came off the bench in a qualifier against Bulgaria. He has already started 15 games for Stromsgodset and made a further eight substitute appearances. As yet, the attention seems not to have fazed him. Odegaarda s father, Hans Erik, was a footballer himself, playing for Stromsgodset and Sandefjord. He is now assistant manager of Mjondalen, who were promoted to the Premier League last season for the first time in 22 years. The last six months have felt like an extended marketing exercise. Odegaard has done at least a dozen major interviews and has trained with or at least visited Liverpool, Arsenal and Bayern Munich. Long been seen as a promising talent, he spent much of the last year training with a range of clubs, including Bayern Munich and Arsenal. But the Spanish giants stole in ahead of the competition to get a deal done.