Former Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, has claimed that the Spanish club’s decision to sign Martin Odegaard, was a publicity stunt.
The 17-year-old Norwegian signed for Madrid last January from Sromsgodet for a £3million fee.
Ancelotti insists he never asked the club to sign the starlet, who only made one substitute appearance under him in May 2015.
Odegaard currently features for the club’s B-team, Real Madrid Castilla, in the third tier of Spanish football.
In Ancelotti’s latest book, Quiet Leadership, the Italian said: “When [club president] Florentino [Perez] buys a Norwegian footballer, you simply have to accept it.
“Furthermore, the president decided that he would play three games with the first team as a public relations exercise.
“He could be the best player in the world, but I don’t care because he was not a player who I asked for. That signing was a to do with PR.”
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