Cristiano Ronaldo‘s 2015 comments on Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard have recently resurfaced.
Martin Odegaard joined Real Madrid Castilla in 2015 from Norwegian club Stromsgodset. He even made his debut that year, replacing Ronaldo in a 7-3 La Liga win over Getafe. It was one of Los Blancos’ 11 senior appearances.
In 2015, the Portuguese striker was asked to select five players around the globe who have a bright future. Eden Hazard, Neymar Jr., Paul Pogba, Memphis Depay, and Odegaard were his selections. In regards to Odegaard, he stated on BT Sport (via Irish Mirror):
“You see many players with potential. I will mention Martin Odegaard of Madrid for example, at 16 he’s still young but you can see he’s a very good player.
“He’s a great player, I think he’s a young boy, he can still grow. He has a good future ahead. We must give him time to learn, to take his best decisions. But I see a lot of potential in the player, he has got a good left foot.”
Odegaard struggled to find regular playing time at Real Madrid, where he had to compete with players such as Luka Modric and Isco. He joined Arsenal on loan in January 2021 before making the move permanent the following summer.
In 128 games for Arsenal, the Norwegian midfielder has 31 goals and 19 assists. Following the departures of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the summer of 2022, he was appointed club captain.
