Martin Odegaard overcomes rejection at Ancelotti’s Real Madrid and becomes leader of Arsenal and the Norwegian national team
Martin Odegaard’s connection with Real Madrid lasted six years. Norway’s talented number 10 arrived at the club in January 2015, still aged 16, with huge expectations about his future. However, in August 2021, after several loan spells and limited opportunities in the first team, the midfielder was permanently traded to Arsenal, in England, where he won the Premier League title this season.
The midfielder’s career was challenging, initially being nicknamed the “Nordic Messi” and later considered a failure during his time in Spain. Interestingly, part of this story involved the coach and some of the most important athletes of the Brazilian team, opponents of the Norwegian captain this Sunday, at 5 pm, in a clash valid for the round of 16 of the World Cup.
Martin Odegaard played for Real Madrid simultaneously with Brazilian players such as Casemiro, Vinícius Júnior, Marcelo, Rodrygo and Éder Militão. Coach Carlo Ancelotti was in charge of the team between 2013 and 2015, a period in which the Spanish club signed the promising Martin Odegaard, an acquisition requested directly by president Florentino Pérez. However, Norway’s young talent failed to meet expectations and attributed part of the difficulty to the dressing room environment.
“I encountered many difficult moments both in the first team and in my second stage. At such a high level, forming friendships is not simple, especially when you are young and of a different nationality. Integration into the main group in the dressing room can be arduous, and the feeling of loneliness increases”, revealed the player at the time.
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Carlo Ancelotti returned to command of the Merengue club in July 2021, remaining until May 2025, before taking over the selection. In August of his first year, the Italian coach played a fundamental role in facilitating the permanent departure of the Norwegian athlete from the team.
Martin Odegaard had just returned from a successful loan spell at Arsenal himself. He had the desire to finally establish himself in the Spanish capital, but Ancelotti was quite transparent about the challenges the young man would face. During a press conference during the transfer period, the Italian coach detailed the conversation he had with the midfielder.
“I spoke to him about the strong competition in the squad”, stated Ancelotti on August 21, 2021. “We have eight excellent players in midfield, and it would be difficult to guarantee space for everyone. He discussed the situation with his family and chose to join a big club”, explained the coach.
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Martin Odegaard participated in a few matches at Real Madrid alongside players like Vinícius Júnior and Casemiro, both starters for the Brazilian team at this World Cup.
However, Norway’s number 10 has a positive memory in clashes against his former teammates, even during loan periods: playing for Real Sociedad, Odegaard won the Copa del Rey in the 2019/2020 season. In the quarter-finals, he was crucial in eliminating Real Madrid, scoring one of the goals in the 4-3 victory at the Santiago Bernabéu itself. More recently, in the 2025 European Champions League, Martin Odegaard’s Arsenal also beat Vinícius Júnior’s Real Madrid.
The journey of the “Nordic Messi” towards the top of football
The football world is often quick to assign labels to its talents. At just 15 years old, Martin Odegaard was already known as the “Nordic Messi”, the target of fierce competition between the biggest clubs in the world. At 20, he faced the injustice of being categorized as a failure. Currently, at 27 years old, the number 10 is the mind behind Norway in their World Cup campaign, acting as the articulator, while Erling Haaland is the Nordic team’s finisher.
“It is extremely gratifying to play alongside Odegaard, and this partnership will only improve in the coming years. We are both still young”, commented Haaland, 25 years old, who is also making his World Cup debut. Norway had not participated in a World Cup since 1998, that is, before the two players were born.
However, the trajectory of this “Viking ship” was not always marked by calm. Odegaard’s transfer to Real Madrid, which initially seemed like a fairytale plot, soon turned into a true psychological drama.
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Inside the Spanish team’s locker room, Odegaard was a young man isolated due to the language barrier and the coldness of already renowned athletes. He was then integrated into the B team, Real Madrid Castilla, far from the spotlight of the Santiago Bernabéu, and found himself confronted with the reality of the Spanish third division camps.
“In the B team, I didn’t have regular interaction with the other players, which made it difficult to create bonds. In the main team, I was just a boy who attended training, without involvement in the games, feeling somewhat of an outsider”, reported Martin Odegaard in an article for The Players’ Tribune platform, in February 2023.
The exile phase and the reconstruction of Odegaard’s career
After being removed from the Spanish team, the midfielder began an extensive transfer journey. Through loans, he ended up far from the main centers of European football, playing for clubs in the Netherlands, such as Heerenveen and Vitesse.
“I lost that energy and shine that characterized my style of play. My biggest concern was avoiding failures, instead of focusing on playing my football… After years, I realized that I wasn’t evolving. The press persecuted me for not immediately meeting the great expectations generated. I became an easy target for criticism”, revealed the player in 2023.
The turning point in his career happened in the English capital. At Arsenal, under the guidance of coach Mikel Arteta, Odegaard achieved stability and received the captain’s ribbon. With his leadership, the Gunners celebrated winning the Premier League in May this year, ending a 22-year period without the title. Both at the London club and the Norwegian national team, he controls the pace of matches with a calm, technical and discreet approach.
His style of play also won over the Norwegian national team. The team, which was facing a 28-year absence from participating in World Cups, found the perfect number 10 in him. This moment aligns perfectly with the presence of one of the greatest goalscorers on the world stage in his generation: Erling Haaland, from Manchester City.
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“On several occasions, we failed to qualify, and we experienced many challenging moments as a team. I have been part of the team since 2014, and throughout this period, we had not qualified for a major tournament. Finally achieving this feat is something immense, one of my biggest dreams. Representing my country in a World Cup with this group of players is an indescribable emotion”, he declared.
In this way, the precocious talent who at one point was labeled by the Spanish media as “Nordic Messi”, but who was on the verge of being lost due to criticism from the press itself, is now fully established at the highest level of global football.
“When you’re 15 and the whole world is talking about you, it’s easy to get carried away by euphoria,” wrote Odegaard in 2023.
“Reaching this level is a dream that we, athletes, have cherished for our entire lives. We believe that we can overcome any opponent”, concluded Odegaard in 2026.
