Many will remember when the very young Strømsgodset player Martin Ødegaard was picked up by Real Madrid and given the full “Hollywood treatment”, with Cristiano Ronaldo in the committee that was supposed to convince the super talent to put on the white shirt in 2016. Ødegaard came, tried, but never got in with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos in midfield. It ended with an Arsenal signing for 35 million euros, a transfer Arsenal supporters call the big steal. Ronaldo saw it, but the Real Madrid management didn’t understand what they had in the Norwegian.
Cristiano Ronaldo stated in a 2015 interview with BT Sport that five players stand out as the biggest talents on the market who will dominate world football.
The first four on the list were established or partially established stars, the last one a newcomer.
Neymar, Eden Hazard, Paul Pogba, Memphis Depay (before it flopped at Man United) – and Martin Ødegaard (!) got a place in Ronaldo’s top 5 list.
If we look at the last three seasons, only Martin Ødegaard is active, world-class and is still on the rise. Had the Real Madrid management listened to CR7, they would still have had the Premier League’s best playmaker in midfield. Ronaldo should have it, he saw where it went with Ødegaard, who is still 26 years young.
