How Real Madrid changed Schjelderup’s destiny, thanks to José Mourinho

A player’s career can take a 180-degree turn from one day to the next. Sometimes in a matter of hours, or even minutes. That is what happened to Andreas Schjelderup, the 21-year-old Norwegian forward whose future seemed to lie away from Benfica – until one Champions League game against Real Madrid changed everything.

What happened to Andreas Schjelderup?

On January 28, Benfica faced the Spanish club in the league phase of the Champions League at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon. There was an unexpected hero: a 21-year-old who had already lined up a move to Belgium. Schjelderup had agreed to join Club Brugge, but that game turned everything upside down. Brugge sporting director Dévy Rigaux explained what happened on the MidMid podcast.

“He would definitely have been a Brugge player. If he hadn’t scored two goals against Real Madrid, he would be at Brugge, seriously. Schjelderup was convinced by the project and there was already an agreement with his agents. We spoke by phone with Benfica and had already exchanged a few proposals.”

“That was when Mário Branco, Benfica’s general manager, told me: ‘Look, let’s focus now only on this last Champions League game, because he has to be there no matter what, the team needs him. We have too many injuries, some suspensions... Let’s get through this and that’s it. We have to change a couple more things regarding the terms, but we’ll reach an agreement.’ That was his comment. The probability of it working out was real,” Rigaux said in detail.

But during the game, everything began to get complicated. He even received a message from the Benfica player himself. They could not believe what was happening. “I remember it perfectly. We were playing Marseille at that moment, and I received a message from Schjelderup, forwarded by his agent: ‘Look, I’m going to start here, it’s very special, I didn’t expect it.’ I went into Ivan Leko’s dressing room before the game and told him: ‘Miracles still exist. Mourinho has put him in the starting XI against Real Madrid.’ Ivan replied: ‘And if this changes...’”

“I was watching the game between Brugge and Marseille, and I started receiving a lot of messages saying he had scored two goals. I looked at my colleagues and said: ‘We’re going to Lisbon tomorrow, right?’” But Benfica had already made its decision. Schjelderup was not leaving.

“During the night I received a message. I saw it around 6 a.m. Branco had sent it at around 2:30. ‘I’m leaving Benfica’s stadium now. I just want to tell you that tomorrow you’re welcome for a coffee... but let’s make one thing very clear: we qualified for the Champions League, Schjelderup scored two goals. It’s not going to happen.’ We still went there believing it could work, but it didn’t,” the Brugge sporting director said.

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