\n<\/p>\n
In summer 2019, yet to turn 21, Odegaard set out on his third loan. This time it was to Real Sociedad, where he proved he was ready for La Liga – including scoring at the Bernabeu as La Real knocked his parent club out of the Copa del Rey.<\/p>\n
“That season at La Real, in particular, was a turning point,” says Balague.<\/p>\n
The Basques wanted him to stay another season, but Odegaard was beckoned back by Zidane to Madrid, where he started Real’s first two games before struggling with a calf injury.<\/p>\n
“He was seen by many as part of the club’s future,” adds Balague. “But once again, he couldn’t crack the midfield trio of Modric, Kroos and Casemiro.<\/p>\n
“Zidane gave him sporadic minutes, often out of position. By then, Odegaard had lost confidence – the rhythm and belief that made him stand out at Real Sociedad seemed to vanish.<\/p>\n
“He wasn’t helped by untimely fitness struggles. He was clearly short of his best. That moment, potentially his real audition, slipped through his fingers.”<\/p>\n
Having made just nine appearances in the first half of the season, a desire for first-team football led him to another loan move, this time to Arsenal. <\/p>\n
That summer, after a productive spell in England, Odegaard returned to Madrid where Ancelotti had been reappointed manager. <\/p>\n
Balague says no guarantee or “clarity of continuity” regarding his playing time was the “final straw” behind Odegaard leaving the Spanish capital permanently in August 2021.<\/p>\n
“He had a frank conversation with Ancelotti,” explains Balague. “The Italian was honest: the competition would be fierce. In Odegaard’s mind, that meant he wouldn’t play. He wanted to feel important. To build something.<\/p>\n
“Perhaps more importantly, there was a deeper disconnect. He never quite felt at home at Madrid.”<\/p>\n
Before Tuesday’s game, Ancelotti praised Odegaard for having the “courage” to seek new opportunities and “become one of the best players in Europe”.<\/p>\n
“I saw him as a real young player,” he added. “The talent he has now is the same talent he had at 17 years old.”<\/p>\n
Odegaard, meanwhile, has never complained about his time in Madrid. <\/p>\n
“I learned so much about what it takes to reach the top,” he has said. <\/p>\n
He never really found a home until he arrived at Arsenal. In north London, Odegaard was finally able to settle and Lund, who first watched him 16 years ago as a young kid at Stromsgodset, still proudly tunes in every week to watch him play.<\/p>\n
“It is hard for me to look back and see he was going to be a captain for Arsenal,” he explains. <\/p>\n
“I would ask if you were drunk if you said that back then. But we all knew he was something special. He is a fantastic player, and an even better person.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n