"I was attacked in the press": Odegaard on what went wrong for him at Madrid

In his interview with Marca, Martin Odegaard identified the constant criticism in the press as one of the main reasons why he didn't succeed at Real Madrid.

"I was attacked in the press. I stopped playing with the spark that was typical of my game, I played it too safe for a while because I was more concerned about not making mistakes than about playing my game," the midfielder said.

"I was hounded by the media for not immediately living up to expectations. I was an easy target.

"Maybe if I was Spanish, they would've given me more time to grow. There is no middle ground in modern football. Either you're the best signing ever or you're sh*t."

Odegaard joined Madrid at the age of 16 for €3m and was assigned to the reserves. The youngster did a solid job for Castilla but never got a proper run at the first team before Madrid started sending him on loans.

After a successful spell at Real Sociedad, the Merengues decided to keep Martin in 2020 only to discard him half a year later without giving him enough playing time. Only 21 years old, some rushed to label him a failure.

Odegaard has managed to fully blossom at Arsenal where he has recorded 8 goals and 6 assists in 26 matches this term.

Source: Marca