In 2015, Real Madrid brought in 16-year-old Martin Ødegaard to a full brass band. The only one who was not impressed by the signing was Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. Ten years later, Ødeggard will show Ancelotti up close he was wrong.
On Tuesday, the Real Madrid players and Ancelotti go out to the Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal and captain Ødegaard are waiting to send the reigning champions out of the Champions League.
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We rewind to be reminded of what Ancelotti thought of Ødegaard, then also as Real Madrid coach. In Ancelotti’s book “Quite Leadership”, the Italian writes:
-When Florentino buys a Norwegian footballer, you simply have to accept it. Furthermore, the president decided that Ødegaard should play three games with the first team as a PR exercise. He could be the best player in the world, but I didn’t care because he wasn’t a player I asked for. That signing was about PR,” Anclotti wrote.
So when Ancelotti returned as Real coach in 2021, it was no surprise that Real Madrid sold Ødegaard to Arsenal for £30 million. Ancelotti stated he had eight players in midfield ahead of Ødegaard in the playing time queue.
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Arsenal supporters have thanked and bowed for the past two years, calling the signing “the big steal”. Now captain Ødegaard will show Ancelotti how wrong the Italian has been.
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