[devo22]

Martin Ødegaard checking his bank account:

In the end it was Madrid he chose, although he supported Liverpool and admired Messi – something that was cause for great satisfaction in Madrid. Getting a potentially great player is one thing; getting him ahead of Barcelona and Bayern is better yet. This was Odegaard’s decision and he had quite a choice.

“Madrid is the best option for my development,” he said. “This is a dream come true, it’s unbelievable.” Asked the inevitable question – Messi or Ronaldo? – he smiled and said: “Ronaldo so far.”

He has signed a six-year deal. The fee has not been disclosed, with Madrid claiming that it is under €3m (£2.2m) but Norwegian sources say that if simple objectives are met it will be well more than €6m, perhaps even as high as €8m.

Odegaard’s salary has not been revealed either, but some reports suggest as much as €80,000 a week. He will train with the first team and join them for pre-season next summer; in the meantime he will play with Real Madrid’s B team, Castilla, who play in the third tier, the regionalised Segunda División B. But the director of institutional relations, Emilio Butragueño, said: “If Carlo Ancelotti wants to call on him, he is available.”

http://www.theguardian.com/football/...orway-bernabeu