We see Norwegian players shine in the top leagues of football often. Players like Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard are the crown jewels of the best Norwegians in the Premier League. We had no articles about Martin Odegaard Biography, so it’s time to write one.
The 24-year-old has been ranked among the best in many lists naming the best Norwegians of the top leagues of football. His style of play distinguishes him from any other 24-year-old player and especially midfielders of the same age. If you haven’t seen his playstyle, maybe this would make it clear how he handles the ball: Many likened him to David Silva and Lionel Messi. They also called him a modern midfielder with balanced offensive and defensive capabilities.
However, we are not here to discuss his playstyle but Martin Odegaard Biography and that’s what we are going to do now.
A comprehensive yet simple article from Martin Odegaard Biography
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Martin Odegaard introduction
We aim to provide you with a full article about Martin Odegaard Biography. To achieve that, we deem it necessary to offer you Martin Odegaard stats and the most basic information so you can update your knowledge about this player.
- Name: Martin Ødegaard
- Age: 24
- Nationality: Norwegian
- Current team: Arsenal
- Number: 8
- Position: Midfielder
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Childhood and early days
Let’s begin where Martin Odegaard biography starts.
Martin Odegaard was born on December 17, 1998, in the Norwegian city of Drammen. Marting Odegaard real name is spelled with the classic Norwegian Ø.
Lene Cecile and Hans Erik, his mother, and father, welcomed him into the world. The son of the couple is both a genuine Drammen local and a citizen of Norway.
He actually has strong familial ties to the nation of Northern Europe, where he is the most impressive young player. El-Rey (Martin’s nickname) was raised in Toppenhaug, a modest and serene area of Drammen. Odegaard’s advancement in his football career is interesting for the locals because soccer was never connected to the city before.
The city’s only claims to fame were its coastlines, mountains, scenic valleys peppered with vibrant wooden cottages, heavy snowfall, and Northern Lights.
As a result, Odegaard is to be credited with putting Drammen on the map of soccer hotspots.
Odegaard started playing the sport there when he was a small boy, where he also had two younger sisters, Emilie and Mari, and an older brother named Kristoffer.
El-Rey generally had a comfortable and financially prosperous youth. Odegaard’s parents and grandfather were in the clothing business.
After serving as a professional for many years, his father also got into soccer management. It follows that the great earnings from the sport enabled Odegaard’s family to live well.
Entering football
If you are wondering how this player found his way into world-class football, then you will find your answer in this section of Martin Odegaard Biography.
Odegaard’s life quickly became entangled with football like a fly in the spider web. His early years were spent playing football, and soon the athlete was playing for a local team. El-Rey joined the local club Drammen Strong when he was six years old.
It’s interesting that his parents and others donated a sizable quantity of money to the club to cover their gravel pitch with synthetic turf. Odegaard’s growth benefited greatly from the investment since it allowed him to train on the field for countless hours.
As a result, when the young Odegaard joined his father’s previous squad, Stromsgodset, he had already improved his abilities. In fact, his inherent talent and hard ethic easily won over the coaches and staff. He soon was the most liked youth player in the squad.
Little did the footballer’s fans realize the sacrifices he was making until he ultimately made his senior debut for Stromsgodset. First of all, he was still enrolled in school since it was required. Since he had to attend school, he never got the opportunity to train with his club during the day.
Instead, he practiced after school in the afternoon and at night. Yet, before turning 16, he was making frequent appearances in the Norwegian top-flight league. He later established himself as a top assist provider and goal scorer for both the club and the nation.
Hans Erik believed his kid deserved to play in the major leagues because of his son’s early achievements. In order to train with the best clubs in Europe, he first brought Odegaard to Liverpool, Bayern Munich, and Arsenal. His father finally settled on the greatest of them all, Real Madrid.
Senior career
Here’s where Martin Odegaard biography takes a good turn.
When Martin Odegaard joined Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid as a 16-year-old, his name was on everyone’s lips.
In fact, Odegaard spent the majority of his career with the second team, scoring five goals in 62 games for the “Castilla”. He trained a lot with the first squad even though he was on the reserve team.
Though his opportunities were few, he did make his debut when he took Cristiano Ronaldo’s place in a La Liga match against Getafe. He made one complete appearance for the first team later on. This was in a Copa del Rey game against Cultural Leonesa in the lower division in 2016.
Though critics praised his performance, it was Enzo Zidane, Zinedine Zidane‘s son, who made headlines with a goal in the match.
He then went through a series of loans to the following teams:
- Heerenveen
- Vitesse
- Real Sociedad
- Arsenal
Odegaard made it known that he intended to depart the squad during the winter transfer window in pursuit of first-team football after his loan spell at Real Sociedad. Odegaard joined Arsenal in the English Premier League on loan on January 27, 2021.
After admiring the club’s direction and the team’s style of play, he concluded that Arsenal would be:
“a club that really suits me well.”
Odegaard soon became a permanent member of Arsenal in a transfer for €35 million, with potential add-ons raising the price to over €40 million. Odegaard agreed to a four-year contract that would last through 2025, with an additional year’s extension option for the club.
Before the 2022–23 season, Arteta chose Odegaard as the new captain of Arsenal, replacing outgoing club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and temporary captain Alexandre Lacazette (now playing in Olympique Lyonnais).
International career
Let’s give Martin Odegaard biography a taste of international football.
On September 17 and 19, 2013, Martin Odegaard started both of Norway’s domestic matches against Sweden’s under-15 national team.
Odegaard swiftly moved through the ranks after making his youth team debut and eventually made it to the senior team of the national team.
At 15 years and 253 days, Odegaard became the youngest player to represent Norway at the senior level when he was called up on August 19, 2014, for a senior international match against the United Arab Emirates in Stavanger.
Odegaard’s performance for Heerenveen, where he was on loan, earned him a return to Lars Lagerback’s Norwegian side after an 18-month absence. On return, he won his 10th cap against Macedonia in November 2017. Odegaard scored his first goal for his national team against Romania on June 7, 2019, in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying game that concluded in a 2-2 tie.
Stale Solbakken, the new manager of the national team, named Odegaard the captain of the national team in March 2021.
Martin Odegaard love life
Moving away from football-related topics we would talk about something different in this portion of Martin Odegaard biography.
Martin Odegaard’s girlfriend was named Oda Burud; she is also a Norwegian native, and the two had been together for a number of years.
It should come as no surprise that one of the primary reasons Burud and Odegaard had such a close connection was because of her well-known passion for soccer. One of the main pillars of a healthy relationship is sharing mutual interests, and both Odegaard and Burud have a passion for soccer.
Before it was clear that Odegaard would become a global sports celebrity, Burud and Odegaard first met in Norway. In this way, it is evident that Burud was not dating Odegaard to benefit from his notoriety or wealth and that the two really cared for one another.
With that said, it seems like the duo has finally parted ways, with Burud posting pictures with another man on her Instagram account and Martin being seen with Helene Spilling in public.
Family
We have concentrated so much on the player that we have forgotten to discuss his family and siblings. But that’s what we would do in this section of Martin Odegaard biography.
Many athletes benefit from their family’s support, and some of them wouldn’t be where they are now without it. It is crucial to discuss Martin Odegaard’s family for this reason.
The superstar’s father is Hans Erik. He was a professional football player once, as was previously said. Before hanging up his boots in 2006, Erik served as a center midfielder for the Norwegian teams Stromsgodset and Sandefjord.
The encouraging father is currently working in soccer management. He serves as the unofficial manager and agent for Odegaard.
The player’s mother is Lene Cecile. She exudes calmness and you would be right to think that Odegaard inherited this amazing personality trait from her.
It’s understandable why he overlooked Sergio Ramos when the latter yelled slurs at his mother during the Madrid vs. Sociedad match in the 2016-17 season. Odegaard received a yellow card for a late tackle that hit Ramos in the shin and precipitated his violent reaction.
The midfielder has two sisters and an older brother. His brother is first child of the household, and his name is Kristoffer. He works as a security and enjoys physical exercise. Emilie and Mari Odegaard, who choose to lead private lives, are also seldom mentioned in the documents about Martin Odegaard.
They must be the starlet’s supporters, just like his parents are.
Martin Odegaard life outside football
Odegaard considers himself to be a Christian when it comes to topics of faith. He actually came from a Christian family and the faith of the player in God plays a significant role in Martin Odegaard life story.
The off-pitch persona of Odegaard is straightforward. He is funny and outgoing, which makes it simple for you to get along with him. In addition to playing computer games, Odegaard enjoys watching electronic sports.
Martin wanted to play professional football and also achieve grandmaster status in chess. He enjoys spending time playing the black-and-white game. He also enjoys reading, blending smoothies, and finding free time to spend with friends and family.
According to the New York Times, a young starlet made no less than $45,000 a week in 2015. And it was no other than the hero of our story, Martin Odegaard.
In 2023, he will be making £100,000 a week and will have a net worth of more than 5 million euros. The salary is double what he made at Real Madrid ($38,800).
Stay with us a bit longer as we finish up Martin Odegaard biography.
Honors and achievements
To finish everything about Martin Odegaard article, we have to end it on a high note with his achievements and awards. It’s worth mentioning that Martin is only 24 years old and has a lot of time to play in the field and achieve greater rewards, but for now, his list of achievements is short.
Real Sociedad is the only club that Martin has managed to win a trophy with. The name of the trophy is Copa del Rey for 2019–20.
On the other hand, his list of individual awards is a bit richer and longer. His first two honors are Tippeligaen Young Player of the Year and Idrettsgallaen Breakthrough of the Year for 2014. He then went on to claim the honors of Eredivisie Team of the Year, Vitesse Player of the Year, and UEFA La Liga Revelation Team of the Year(the first two in the 2018-19 season and the third in 2019–20).
Plus, he was named Premier League Player of the Month for November/December 2022. His most recent award was the London Football Awards Premier League Player of the Year for the current year.
This was all there was to Martin Odegaard biography. We hope that you enjoyed our piece and that we helped you expand your knowledge about this player.
