Florentino has pressured Zidane into taking Odegaard to Canada
According to French media outlet Le10 Sport, there was some conflict between Zidane and the president over the inclusion of young Odegaard in their preseason plans.Real Madrid-Sevilla live: LaLiga
As reported yesterday in Le10Sport, Real Madrid president, Florentino Pérez, imposed on manager Zinedine Zidane the presence of Ødegaard in the group that flies off to Montreal on tour today. This prompted some conflict between the two as Zidane apparently preferred not to have the Norwegian in the squad this time.The daily paper referred to it as "interference of the president in the manager's work". It also stated that the Spanish club are looking for a German team to loan out the young Norwegian.
Presidential interference
Ødegaard was brought to Madrid on the 22 January 2015. The then-16-year-old came at a cost of 2.5 million euros from Stromsgodset and signed for six years with what could be described as a 'mini-galáctico' salary of around 1.2 million euros net - something that didn't sit well with the rest of the youth squad. Once incorporated into the club he never really settled and hasn't yet shown enough of the potential that was being invested in.
Another problem that has been inherited by the new manager in respect of Florentino's demands for the player is that his contract stipulates that he must train with the first team five days per week. This didn't sit well with Zidane who saw the difficulties of the player adapting appropriately across the two areas of the club.
Uncertain future
In 2015, Zidane's predecesor, Rafa Benitez, was 'encouraged' by Pérez to gave the Norwiegan a starring role in the first game in a preseason friendly. He played a half against Roma on July 18, 2015. A few weeks later, on August 9, he played against Valerenga, a team from Oslo. The club paid two million for the youngster, agreed to certain contract terms, and they've had to follow it through. If he can convince the French coach that he can contribute then it may all have been worth it. If not, how his promising career develops could be in the hands of others.
The youth team player has more than just football to think about:
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