Before he went to Real Madrid
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On Saturday evening, Martin Ødegaard will be captain of Arsenal FC in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain. In the winter of the 2014/15 season, Borussia Mönchengladbach tried to recruit the then 16-year-old playmaker, as Steffen Korell, then chief scout for the Foals, reported in an interview with “Kicker”. However, Real Madrid won the contract.
“There were already a few signs that we could have our hopes up. I would like to put it this way: We had the feeling that Martin and the family were really seriously considering a move to Mönchengladbach,” explained Korell, who has been a management consultant at Borussia since February 2026 and previously held various jobs at the club. Ødegaard had caused a stir at the Norwegian first division club Strømsgodset, was considered the next prodigy and was hunted by half of Europe.
Ødegaard made his debut in the Norwegian first division in March 2014 at the age of 15 years, three months and 27 days. Almost a month later, he became the youngest goalscorer in history in a 4-1 win for Strømsgodset – from then on everyone was talking about him. “We certainly didn’t discover him exclusively. When a 15-year-old plays in the first league in Norway, everyone looks. But Martin had already been known to us for a long time at that point. Ove (Flindt-Bjerg; editor), as our expert for Scandinavia, had seen him before, for example at the international Nordic Cup, and immediately recommended him,” says Korell.
Gladbach had established itself as a promising club for talent development in previous years and was therefore able to imagine opportunities with Ødegaard. Players like Marco Reus, Marc-André ter Stegen, Thorgan Hazard and Granit Xhaka developed splendidly with the Foals. During Korell’s tenure as chief scout between 2011 and 2017, many professionals such as Hazard, Xhaka, Raffael and Nico Elvedi were brought in, who shaped the face of the team for a long time. “Among other things, we had a very good conversation with the family and were able to present our plans and goals in detail. It was not a given that Borussia Mönchengladbach would even have the opportunity to meet in person to present their ideas in this huge competition,” Korell outlined the process. “At this point I have to mention our former scout Ove Flindt-Bjerg. He had been in contact with the family for a long time and opened the door for us to talk. Max Eberl and I then traveled to Drammen for the personal meeting.”
Ødegaard’s rocky path to the football elite
In the end, Ødegaard chose Real Madrid, who paid Strømsgodset €2.8 million. The left-footed player only played eleven games for the Royal team, followed by loans to SC Heerenveen, Vitesse Arnheim and Real Sociedad. In the summer of 2021, the Norwegian international moved to Arsenal FC permanently after a six-month loan for 35 million euros – a stroke of luck for both sides. With the Gunners he matured into a world-class player, was involved in 88 goals in 233 games and reached his career high of 110 million euros in May 2024 – only one Norwegian, Erling Haaland, was ever more valuable.
As he explained, Korell never really gave up on the dream of signing Ødegaard. “The scenario of a loan remained in the back of our minds, but the door didn’t really open for us later.” In the club’s history, eight Norwegians have worn the Foals’ jersey, including Håvard Nordtveit and Hassan El Fakiri.
