Who is Martin Odegaard: The 16-year-old European wonderkid that has joined Real Madrid

Martin Odegaard only made his Stromsgodset debut nine months ago and has made a handful of first-team appearances since but the 16-year-old Norwegian wonderkid arrives at Real Madrid, arguably the world’s biggest club, with a ‘Galactico’ feel that is so accustomed to Real Madrid and president Florentino Perez.

The chase to sign Europe’s most in-demand prospect has been long and arduous for the clubs involved - including Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Bayern Munich - but the European champions wooed the young star sufficiently to see his blossoming future head to the Santiago Bernabeu.

The attacking midfielder, who is left-footed and enjoys playing on the right or behind the striker, was only born five months after Zinedine Zidane, a Madrid legend and his probable manager at Madrid’s second team, Castilla, scored twice in France’s 3-0 victory over Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final.

He only turned 16 last month, prompting a battle for his first contract, but huge things are expected of him.

Born in Drammen, a town of 62,000 residents, Odegaard was coached by his father, Hans Erik, and last season, at the tender age of 15, became the youngest player to play and score in the Norwegian Premier League and the youngest player to represent Norway and play in European Championship qualifying matches.

 

He has been calm and shown a maturity way beyond his years on and off the pitch but the steepest learning curve of all awaits him at the Santiago Bernabeu.