Norway currently have Arsenal’s Martin Ødegaard and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland as their two big football stars.
The midfielder and striker have also starred for Arsenal and Manchester City since arriving in England.
Haaland won the treble in his debut season and the title last season with Manchester City, while his compatriot won the Community Shield with Arsenal in 2023.
The 24-year-old striker has been nominated for the best Norwegian men’s athlete award, while the Arsenal captain was left out. The final list is prepared after taking into consideration their performances and achievements in their respective sports.
According to NRK, the Norwegian football association didn’t send both Haaland and the Arsenal midfielder for the nomination. This was confirmed by NFF director Siri Nordby, and she explained why the 26-year-old midfielder was left out.
“We sent in nominations with one player in each category based on who we think has the best chance of winning. On the men’s side, we nominated Erling as male athlete of the year and Martin as role model of the year,” she told NRK.
“We know from experience that it is very difficult to get through the eye of the needle in the athlete of the year category if you have not won anything. That is the reason why the NFF did not choose to nominate both of them.”
The decision to pick the Manchester City frontman and leave Ødegaard out hasn’t gone down well with Norway manager Ståle Solbakken.
“I don’t agree, because Martin has been superb for a long time for two teams. But the competition is strong,” he said.
Former Norwegian midfielder and NRK expert Carl-Erik Torp also shares the same view as Solbakken.
“This is surprising. He obviously should have been nominated. The jury is well aware of Martin’s achievements,” Torp explained.
Solbakken and Torp are clearly annoyed with Ødegaard’s omission.