Norwegian midfielder Martin Ødegaard has revealed he plans to return to Real Madrid once his loan with Real Sociedad expires.
The youngster endured a tricky start to life in Madrid between 2015 and 2017, and he since spent the rest of his time out on loan. However, his fortunes have improved greatly this season, having played a starring role for Sociedad.
Speaking to Cadena SER ahead of returning to the Santiago Bernabéu to face his parent side on Sunday, Ødegaard insisted he still sees his future with Los Blancos.
“It is my goal: succeed at Real Madrid,” he confessed. “That’s why I signed with Madrid, to play there. But now I am very happy here. There’s no rush. If I play in Madrid in two years or five years, it doesn’t matter. Time does not matter to me. But one day I want to play in Madrid.”
His loan spell with La Real is set to last until the summer of 2021, but there have been rumours that Real could look to terminate that early and welcome Ødegaard back into the first-team fold at the Bernabéu.
However, Ødegaard himself has put that speculation to bed, stating that he wants to see out the remainder of his loan contract with Sociedad.
“Yes. It’s the plan [to stay with Sociedad for two years],” he said. “I have it clear. Let’s see later, in football you never know what will happen. But the idea is to stay here for two years.”
Having risen to prominence at such a young age, Ødegaard faced plenty of pressure to succeed at Real, but struggled to meet the expectations. He was sent on loan to both Heerenveen and Vitesse between 2017 and 2019, and he confessed that he needed that change of scenery.
“Yes, it suited me very well [to leave], because the most important thing for young people is to play and that’s what I had there,” he admitted. “The experience suited me well, because I think it is very difficult to play in Madrid when you’re 16 years old, let alone at 20. That is why everything feels good for me.“
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