“It was annoying” – Former Real Madrid prodigy reflects upon his failed spell at Bernabeu | OneFootball

Martin Odegaard was one of Real Madrid’s biggest youth bets in 2015, when he arrived from boyhood club Stromgodset, at the tender age of just 16.

Having made his first-team debut at the same age, Odegaard was destined for success at Santiago Bernabeu.

However, his fate in the Spanish capital ended quite differently. The youngster struggled to establish himself as a key player in the team and was eventually sent on several loan spells elsewhere.

Odegaard reflects on his Real Madrid failure

In a recent media interaction, Odegaard has reflected on his struggles at Real Madrid, revealing that he was always perceived as a ‘little boy’.

“It was annoying. Everyone saw me as the little kid and all you want is to be seen as a normal player. I think it’s also normal that when you play so young you get a bit more attention,” Odegaard told Arsenal’s YouTube channel (h/t Diario AS)

Odegaard has proven himself at Arsenal (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

During his six-and-a-half-year spell at the Bernabeu, Odegaard could only feature in 11 competitive matches for Real Madrid.

Now, of course, the Norwegian has firmly established himself as one of Arsenal’s best players and an inspiration to all the youngsters in his country.

Talking about how age can play an important factor in one’s growth, Odegaard added, “As soon as you get older and have more minutes, I think people start to forget your age and see your quality. They don’t care too much about your age and that’s the main thing.”

Odegaard, though, did admit that training with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale was a life experience for him.

“When I arrived in Madrid and started training with the first team, all the great players were there, like Ronaldo, Benzema and Bale. Going in there, in the dressing room, and then going out on the pitch with them and seeing their qualities. They were unreal moments,” he admitted.