TEMPO.CO, Oslo - Norwegian football whiz kid Martin Odegaard said on Monday that he joined Spanish giants Real Madrid for sporting reasons and not for the money.
He said the presence of French legend Zinedine Zidane as reserve-team coach played an important role in his decision.
The 16-year-old would not comment on his wage. However, media reports estimated his wage would be around 45,000 euros per week.
"It (money) has not been an issue at all for me. It was not an issue in my discussions with various clubs," the attacking midfielder told reporters in Drammen, southeast Norway, where he says goodbye to his former club Stromsgodset.
"I chose what was best for me in sporting terms," he added.
Odegaard will fly to Madrid this week, where he will train with the primary team and play with the reserves, Real Madrid Castilla.
The Norwegian international, who was desired by top clubs such as Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Liverpool and Ajax Amsterdam, stressed that third-division Castilla was trained by Zidane, who he considered as "one of the world's best footballers of all time".
On Friday, a day after his recruitment was announced, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti predicted a "great future" for Odegaard, but stressed that "patience" would be required as the Norwegian prepared to enter the club's first team.
"It's difficult to think that Odegaard could play (in the first team) straight away," said Ancelotti.
"He's very young, we have to be patient with him. We're all convinced he'll play and will be an important player for Real Madrid," he added.
ANTARA
