So with all the transfer rumors going around during summer, there is one in particular that interest us more than others at the moment. Ever since he signed with Real Madrid at only 15 years old, we’ve been following Martin Ødegaard’s career closely.

Former Real manager Carlo Ancelotti claimed in his new book that the move for Ødegaard was a PR stunt. And it seems likely, as he was one of the most talked about players that year. Still Real Madrid announced that Ødegaard would train with both the club’s first team and the reserves, Real Madrid Castilla, but he would play for the latter team, which was managed by Zinedine Zidane at the time.

There was a lot of other major clubs with their eye on the talented Norwegian. He trained with Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Manchester City. He also visited Arsenal before deciding on Real Madrid.

We now hope that he will be transferred, because being a relatively big fish in a huge pond isn’t getting you much playing time at all, which we would love to see from the talented boy of 17 and a half. But in the meantime, you can check out some of the other players that have made headlines for being really good at a really young age.

 

The youngest player to play in Champions League
Anderlecht’s Celestine Babayaro, against Steaua București on 23 November 1994, aged 16 years and 87 days. He was sent off in the 37th minute.

Youngest scorer in Champions League
Peter Ofori-Quaye, 17 years and 195 days. Nine minutes after his introduction, the Ghanaian forward struck Olympiacos FC’s consolation in a 5-1 defeat by Rosenborg BK in the 1997/98 group stage. His goals in his first seasons in Piraeus drew plenty of international attention, and he was eager to move to the Premier League, saying: “The rate of club soccer development is high in England, that’s why I want to continue my club career there.”

Youngest to score in a Champions League final
Patrick Kluivert of Ajax is the youngest (18 years, 327 days) player to score in a Champions League final, doing so in 1995.

The youngest player to win the Champions League
The youngest player to win the tournament is António Simões, who was 18 years and 139 days when Benfica won against Real Madrid on 2 May 1962.