Odegaard struggled to ‘not give a f*ck’ while at Real Madrid

became one of the most sought after players while he was only 15 years old. The Norwegian chose to go to Real Madrid but for years, he struggled to adapt to life at Madrid. After various loan spells, Odegaard finally managed to get a permanent transfer to Arsenal in 2021, where he has since thrived and has become one of the best midfielders in the world

Talking to the Players’ Tribune, the Arsenal captain opened up about his time at

and the mistakes he made.

"I stopped playing with the spark that was typical of my game. I went a bit too safe for a time. I was worrying more about not making mistakes than actually playing my game,"

he told the Players' Tribune.

"And my game was always about making a difference. Playing the difficult pass. I can understand why it happened now. I was still a little kid, but I’ve learned that you have to be ruthless. You have to not give a f***. You have to show the real you on the pitch."

He then spoke about the backlash from media he faced, whilst still a teenager, saying:  

"After a couple of years, I just wasn’t progressing. The press came after me for not immediately living up to the hype. I was an easy target. If you really know me, you know I smile a lot, but I think from the outside sometimes my face looks more grumpy than I actually am. It made it easier for them to write about how I was struggling to adapt. I remember reading a headline like: 'NOW IT’S MAKE OR BREAK TIME FOR MARTIN ØDEGAARD' And I’m like, make or break? I’m 18 years old!"

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