Martin Odegaard is currently in hot form for Real Madrid, and one would wonder why his time at Real Madrid wasn’t a success.

Hyped as a teenager, Odegaard joined Real Madrid at the age of 16 for €3m. Playing for the B team, Odegaard was super for Castilla.

He was then sent out on loan, and after a successful spell at Real Sociedad, Real Madrid decided to try him out in the senior team.

Odegaard faced massive criticisms, and not many believed he was a Madrid material, as he was shipped off a year after.

The 24-year-old is now a top player for Arsenal, and he has now looked back at his time at Real Madrid.

In an interview with Marca, Martin Odegaard claimed that he wasn’t given a chance at the club because he wasn’t Spanish.

“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,” Odegaard 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.”