Cristiano Ronaldo’s prediction on Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard in 2015 looks to be coming true.
After taking a bit of time to settle in during his initial loan spell, Odegaard has been one of Arsenal’s key players this season after signing permanently last summer.
The Norwegian international has even captained his side at times, despite only being 23-years-old.
Manchester United forward Ronaldo made a prediction on Odegaard during his time at Real Madrid, and it seems to be coming true. Ronaldo was asked to name five players he thought would go on to have stellar careers,
“I will mention Martin Odegaard of Madrid for example, at 16 he’s still young but you can see he’s a very good player. He’s a great player, I think he’s a young boy, he can still grow. He has a good future ahead,” said Ronaldo, speaking to BT Sport (via Football.London).
Odegaard had only made one league appearance at the time, so it was hardly an obvious pick from Ronaldo. He must have seen something special in training, especially as he was only 16-years-old.
“We must give him time to learn, to take his best decisions. But I see a lot of potential in the player, he has got a good left foot,” added Ronaldo.
The Manchester United striker got it bang on. Some Arsenal fans wrote him off after his initial loan spell, but all he needed was time to settle in and adapt to the English game. Now Mikel Arteta is reaping the rewards of a young talent who is still nowhere near his prime.