“The Big Steal”! Arsenal supporters have jubilantly described Ødegaard’s €35+ million transfer from Real Madrid as a theft, with the La Liga giant being left as the big loser. This was largely thanks to Carlo Ancelotti. Last season, Ancelotti got a reminder of the mistake, when Martin Ødegaard led Arsenal to two wins in the Champions League quarter-finals against Real, with Ancelotti coached. Last week came another reminder. Real Madrid are without the great leader and titles this season, Arsenal with Ødegaard as captain lifted the Premier League trophy – and will go into the Champions League final.
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,” Ancelotti wrote.
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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”.
For Ødegaard, it was first a loan to Arsenal, then a direct permanent transfer in 2021.
With Arteta on the sidelines and captain Ødegaard out on the pitch, Arsenal have been laying stone upon stone since 2021 – to give supporters the euphoric joy of winning the Premier League title for the first time since 2003/04.
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Ancelotti, one of the world’s best coaches, was so thoroughly, thoroughly wrong about Ødegaard. This is the leader and captain Real Madrid should have had in recent seasons.
