In the summer of 2019, even to turn 21, Odegaard proposed his third loan. This time it was for the true society, where he showed that he was ready for the League, including the score at the Bernabéu when the Real eliminated her parent club of the Copa del Rey.
“That season in the Real, in particular, was a turning point,” says Balaga.
The Basques wanted another season to stay, but Zidane returned Odegaard to Madrid, where the first two games of the Real began before fighting with a calf injury.
“It was seen by many as part of the future of the club,” adds Balague. “But once again, he could not decipher the trio of the midfield of Modric, Kroos and Casemiro.
“Zidane gave him sporadic minutes, often out of position. By then, Odegaard had lost his trust: the rhythm and belief that made him stand out in true society seemed to disappear.
“He was not helped by the struggles of inopportune fitness. It was clearly less than the best.
After having made only nine appearances in the first half of the season, a football desire of the first team took him to another loan movement, this time to Arsenal.
That summer, after a productive spell in England, Odegaard returned to Madrid, where Ancelotti had been re -elected to the manager.
Balague says that no guarantee or “clarity of continuity” with respect to his game time was the “final tail” behind Odeegaard, leaving the Spanish capital permanently in August 2021.
“He had a frank conversation with Ancelotti,” Balague explains. “The Italian was honest: the competition would be fierce. In Odegaard’s mind, that meant he wouldn’t play. He wanted to feel important. To build something.
“Perhaps the most important thing, there was a deeper disconnection. He never felt at home in Madrid.”
Before Tuesday’s game, Ancelotti praised Odegaard for having the “courage” to look for new opportunities and “become one of the best players in Europe.”
“I saw him as a true young player,” he added. “The talent he has now is the same talent he was at age 17.”
Odegaard, meanwhile, has never complained about his time in Madrid.
“I learned a lot about what is needed to get to the top,” he said.
He really never found a home until he reached Arsenal. In northern London, Odeegaard could finally be established and Lund, who saw it for the first time 16 years ago when he was a child in Stromsgodset, he still proudly tune in every week to see him play.
“It’s hard for me to look back and see that I was going to be an Arsenal captain,” he explains.
“I would ask you if you were drunk if you said that at that time. But we all knew it was something special. He is a fantastic player and an even better person.”