Ahead of their Champions League quarter-finals clash on Tuesday night, Real Madrid boss, Carlo Ancelotti, has hailed Arsenal superstar, Martin Odegaard.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference, Ancelotti responded to a question on Odegaard, former Real Madrid star who he has been warned to be wary of.
Odegaard, the current Arsenal captain, made a permanent move to the Emirates Stadium from Santiago Bernabeu in 2021.
Since then, the Norwegian has been in decent form this campaign.
This season, the midfielder has recorded five goals and eight assists in 34 overall outings.
The 26-year-old attacking midfielder only played 11 games in the colours of Los Merengues and failed to either score or assist a goal for them before joining Mikel Arteta’s side.
Ancelotti, a legendary Italian manager, said, “I saw him as a real young player. The talent he has now is the same talent he had at 17.
“He has had courage to go elsewhere and seek new opportunities to become one of the best players in Europe.
On why he allowed the then 17-year-old midfielder leave Real Madrid, the former Chelsea and AC Milan boss added, “There was no space for him to show his quality. He decided to go elsewhere because of the possibility to go elsewhere to play, to one of the best clubs in the Champions League.”
