Former Dutch international and Ajax striker Jan Mulder believes 16-year-old midfielder Martin Odegaard has committed career suicide by signing for Real Madrid.
A number of European heavyweights were vying for Odegaard’s signature before he signed a contract with Real Madrid last week, a group which included Liverpool, Manchester United, Juventus, Barcelona, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Celtic and Bayern Munich.
Ajax were also keen on signing the 16-year-old and many feel a move to Holland would have been more beneficial for the Norwegian teen sensation as it would have handed him first team opportunities in a less competitive league.
But the senior Norway international joined Los Blancos and Mulder believes it was an unwise decision for the teenager to join Real Madrid at this point in his career.
Though he admits that the financial benefits of joining Real Madrid might have been more lucrative than elsewhere, Mulder feels Odegaard has committed career suicide by moving to Spain – unless he is actually the next Lionel Messi.
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“In terms of sporting interests it was an unwise decision to join Real Madrid, but I do understand that financially it was tempting”, the 69-year-old told Sporza.
“Basically he has ended his career or he must be as good as Lionel Messi.”
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