I wrote in this thread that I thought he was whoring himself around Europe and got jumped on by a load of people. "No", they said. "He and his dad are the type to put his development first", they said...
This has to the be the most ballsy move in football the last ten years, or ever. I think it's exciting and hope he'll prove everyone who thinks he's an idiot wrong, I have faith in the guy.
Prior to this signing, I didn't really care about the kid. But now that everyone (not just on here) is calling him an idiot for signing for Madrid and almost wanting him to fail, I hope he proves his doubters wrong.
Prior to this signing, I didn't really care about the kid. But now that everyone (not just on here) is calling him an idiot for signing for Madrid and almost wanting him to fail, I hope he proves his doubters wrong.
People who claim that it is a stupid decision to train with some of the best players in the world, including the current player of the year in one of the best clubs in the world needs to check their head.
Sure it's extremely unlikely that he will get first team football at Real Madrid within the first 4-5 years (or at all), but it isn't about that.
Those who make fun of Ødegaard seniors new coaching job at Real Madrid seem to forget that there are rules in place where someone of that age needs to have a parent who will accompany them, the coaching job at Real Madrid is simply a gimmick to get by that rule; and having senior still involved in his sons progress is only positive as he has helped Martin reach the point where he can sign for Real Madrid or any other club.
17
Article
19
Protection of minors
1.
International transfers of players are only permitted if the player is over
the age of 18.
2.
The following three exceptions to this rule apply:
a) The player’s parents move to the country in which the new club is
located for reasons not linked to football;
b) The transfer takes place within the territory of the European
Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) and the player
is aged between 16 and 18. In this case, the new club must fulfi
l
the following minimum obligations:
i) It shall provide the player with an adequate football education
and/or training in line with the highest national standards.
ii) It shall guarantee the player an academic and/or school and/or
vocational education and/or training, in addition to his football
education and/or training, which will allow the player to pursue
a career other than football should he cease playing professional
football.
iii) It shall make all necessary arrangements to ensure that
the player is looked after in the best possible way (optimum
living standards with a host family or in club accommodation,
appointment of a mentor at the club, etc.).
iv) It shall, on registration of such a player, provide the
relevant association with proof that it is complying with the
aforementioned obligations;
c) The player lives no further than 50km from a national border
and the club with which the player wishes to be registered in the
neighbouring association is also within 50km of that border. The
maximum distance between the player’s domicile and the club’s
headquarters shall be 100km. In such cases, the player must
continue to live at home and the two associations concerned must
give their explicit consent.
Some make fun of how "only some people get out of Real Madrids academy as a top footballer, and then it's because of their talent and work ethic and more in spite of Real Madrids coaching".
Well, if anything Martin is very talented as almost all top clubs in Europe have been after him.
His work ethic is reportedly very good and has been since he was very young.
Saying it is bad for him to go to Real Madrid and train with Ronaldo, Bale, Rodriguez, Isco, Modric and the other superstars and getting regular game-time for Castilla (which still plays on a higher level than the top division in Norway) while adjusting to the country seems just daft in my opinion.
He fits better in La Liga than in the Premier League with his play-style, and to be frank, with City & Chelsea not giving youth a chance, Arsenal having Özil, Welbeck, Wilshere, Ramsey, Chamberlain, Rosicky, Cazorla and so on before even mentioning their talents, Liverpool being stockpiled in their first-team of players of that ilk & United not even giving proper game-time to Januzaj who has shown more at a higher level while also being drowned with players who work best in the hole or as an attacking midfielder(Januzaj, Rooney, Mata, Di Maria, Herrera etc) it's very unlikely that he would have gotten any first-team action in England unless he went outside the traditional clubs.
Sure Ajax seems the optimal move (and it is where I believe he would be best off going to) with the potential of having first-team football at an attack-focused league, but he would miss out on training and getting to reap of the experience of the world class footballers at other top clubs.
Dortmund at the moment is in a bad position as it's hard to say what is wrong with them (outside the early injury crisis) and they also have a lot of top attacking players and probably talents coming through. FC Bayern are great at producing top players, but let us not forget that Pierre Højbjerg who also is a top talent can't get into their first team, and Götze who is rated as one of the top talents with extreme top level already has (reportedly as I don't follow the Bundesliga close anymore) had his problems getting the game-time we initially would have thought he would. Xherdan Shaqiri had to move away and he trashed United when we met them. It's no guarantee that he would have gotten any more first-team football there.
When it comes to loaning out players, all top clubs try to do so when they feel their talents are too good for the reserves but not good enough for the first team, and Real Madrid is no exception. If he needs a step up he can go out on loan in La Liga just as easily as he can in the Bundesliga or the Premier League.
He is 16, expecting him to not disappear from the headlines after he went from target for every top-club out there to signed and in-development is pretty daft. Keeping the media attention on him would only be achieved if he got regular first-team football and did well.
I'm not saying that he is nailed on to be a top player, but he isn't doing himself a disservice by joining Real Madrid over most of the other top-clubs out there.
Also, the reported €80k a week or whatever currency it was should be taken with so much salt that you are sure to get a heart-attack.
Glad this saga is finally over. Wish him all the best, but I'm guessing if he doesn't burst onto the scene straight away, we won't hear to much more about him for a couple of years now.
People who claim that it is a stupid decision to train with some of the best players in the world, including the current player of the year in one of the best clubs in the world needs to check their head.
Is it over now? Has he finally decided which club he's going to disappear into the cracks of? Hopefully never hear about this laborious bollocks ever again.
I doubt anyone would allow a 16 yo kid to train along with 28-30 yo fully developed players. I'd imagine him to be with Castilla for the first 6-12 months or so, and then depending on his progress (both physically and mentally) the coaches can take a call whether to put him along with the big boys or not.
I doubt anyone would allow a 16 yo kid to train along with 28-30 yo fully developed players. I'd imagine him to be with Castilla for the first 6-12 months or so, and then depending on his progress (both physically and mentally) the coaches can take a call whether to put him along with the big boys or not.
I agree on that, but either way he will not likely play first-team football at a top club within the next 2-3 years, and he will gain from either loans or training with top players. Both are options from Real Madrid which was my point.
I agree on that, but either way he will not likely play first-team football at a top club within the next 2-3 years, and he will gain from either loans or training with top players. Both are options from Real Madrid which was my point.
Well, that's why people are saying that he should have joined a club like Ajax. Not only would he be served by world class training facilities (especially a club which is renowned for its youth academy), but also get more experience and playing time at the top level with the first team, which evidently would be better than what the Castilla has to offer.
Well, that's why people are saying that he should have joined a club like Ajax. Not only would he be served by world class training facilities (especially a club which is renowned for its youth academy), but also get more experience and playing time at the top level with the first team, which evidently would be better than what the Castilla has to offer.
Better than what Castilla can offer within the first year, yes, but better than Real Madrid can offer over the contract he gets? Less likely so.
And as I also mentioned, my argument was against those who say it's a stupid move. It's still way better than staying put in Norway or going to another top-club where there is just as little chance of first team football and lesser top players to learn from.
It's not a bad or a stupid move, at the moment a move to Ajax looks better for development but we really don't know what Real Madrid or any other of the top clubs have promised him for his future. I'm fairly certain he isn't going to Real Madrid because of the wage-package he was offered compared to the other clubs, especially if they offered way better development platforms.
If he would, there would be no reason to visit so many clubs.
2.5m/year can´t see him as an idiot...
Even if stops here this will have made him so much money that he and his family are set for life.
I bet he could always go from Real to some club in europe and get a decent sum for the rest of his career, so who cares. He will go into a great group of talented youngsters who have tried to go for the big time in first try and who knows if he makes it or not but his chances are 50 -50..
2.5m/year can´t see him as an idiot... Even if stops here this will have made him so much money that he and his family are set for life.
I bet he could always go from Real to some club in europe and get a decent sum for the rest of his career, so who cares. He will go into a great group of talented youngsters who have tried to go for the big time in first try and who knows if he makes it or not but his chances are 50 -50..
I doubt anyone would allow a 16 yo kid to train along with 28-30 yo fully developed players. I'd imagine him to be with Castilla for the first 6-12 months or so, and then depending on his progress (both physically and mentally) the coaches can take a call whether to put him along with the big boys or not.
Better than what Castilla can offer within the first year, yes, but better than Real Madrid can offer over the contract he gets? Less likely so.
And as I also mentioned, my argument was against those who say it's a stupid move. It's still way better than staying put in Norway or going to another top-club where there is just as little chance of first team football and lesser top players to learn from.
It's not a bad or a stupid move, at the moment a move to Ajax looks better for development but we really don't know what Real Madrid or any other of the top clubs have promised him for his future. I'm fairly certain he isn't going to Real Madrid because of the wage-package he was offered compared to the other clubs, especially if they offered way better development platforms.
If he would, there would be no reason to visit so many clubs.
I think that probably plays a part in your decision though - it certainly would mine - afterall he is a professional footballer and his career could end in any training session with one bad tackle so financial security (along with the development and coaching you think you will get plus the long term opportunity) would be factors I would consider important.
As for picking Madrid - arguably the worlds biggest club, great facilities, fantastic place to live - If I were him I'd probably have gone there as well (though I may be biased as I love Madrid as a city)
I doubt anyone would allow a 16 yo kid to train along with 28-30 yo fully developed players. I'd imagine him to be with Castilla for the first 6-12 months or so, and then depending on his progress (both physically and mentally) the coaches can take a call whether to put him along with the big boys or not.
The first team squad at Madrid often borrow players from the club's C team at times to give them a full squad for training (they only have 19 outfield players even when everyone's fit) and they regularly have the Castilla's best players with them. They're not going to just throw him in and see if he survives.
He's apparently injured at the moment so it may be a month or so before he appears on a teamsheet anywhere.
The Spanish press think Chelsea and Bayern matched/bettered the financial offer and that the other two contenders were United and Arsenal who he liked for their "sporting projects".
This has to the be the most ballsy move in football the last ten years, or ever. I think it's exciting and hope he'll prove everyone who thinks he's an idiot wrong, I have faith in the guy.
I seem to be in the minority that thinks it's a good move. He gets to learn from the likes of Ancelotti, Zidane, Ronaldo, Bale, Isco, Kroos and Modric. Imagine being a 16 year old and training with that kind of quality day in and day out, it's bound to improve even if he doesn't get a lot of game time. And then if he gets to 18 and is still nowhere near the first team he can leave with great experience and still more than enough time to fulfill his potential elsewhere.
I realise that I'm very protective of this guy seing as we're both from the same area, know the same people and that he's Norwegian! But people calling him an idiot, hoping he'll fail and all that.. That's just bitter and silly. He's a 16 year old kid, who left his development in the hands of his father and some excellent advisors (despite what's been said in the media, his father is not the only one doing club/development-research for this kid), and they are FAR more qualified to make a decision like this than any of us. Yeah, LongJohnSilver69 on Redcafe is certainly in a position to call this out a an idiotic move, because he'll know for a fact that Real is just fooling him and going to waste his talent.
I hate that he didnt come to United, but we never showed enough interest (according to the Norwegian representative being in contact with Martin) and Real and Bayern more or less promised him everything he could ever imagine. I cant imagine wishing a 16 year old boy, who is a massively talented footballer, to fail for any reason besides bitterness.
He never came to Utd or boyhood club Liverpool because it was all about the money. He got what he wanted and it will be very surprising if we hear/care about him for a while or ever. Now to move on to another youngster that may learn from him and not throw away his career.
Some incredibly bitter posts in this thread. You would almost think every other poster had themselves been offered a place in the Real Madrid academy and knew exactly what they can offer in terms of development.
Personally I'm happy United presumably didn't join the prestige war and offered crazy wages to a 16 year old.
Incidentally, when did we last see Real make this big a fuss about a youth signing? If indeed ever?
I would've thought that Bayern or Ajax would have been a better move, but I look forward to finding out. People saying this is the last we hear from him are seriously jumping the gun.
All the talk from his camp before he joined anyone was that wherever he went he had to be guaranteed first team football. If he thinks he can get regular game time in that Real Madrid team then him and whoever advises him need to be sectioned in a mental institution ASAP.
Eh I don't get your point? Would you recommend to every sought after young player that he should go wherever he is offered the most money? Of course not (I hope). If his development was to stall (which there is a decent chance it will now that he has joined Real) then while he may be earning 2.5 million a year for the next couple of years (which may not even be true) his earnings over the next decade and more will be less than what they would be if he fulfilled his potential. He would have been much better off in the long run (both as a player and in monetary terms) if he had gone somewhere like Ajax where he would have been guaranteed first team football within 12 months and gotten a better footballing education.
