Real Madrid's signing of Martin Odegaard was a PR stunt, claims Carlo Ancelotti

Ancelotti was the Real Madrid manager when the club paid £3million to sign Odegaard from Norwegian club Stromsgodset in January 2015.

Former Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti claims he never asked the club to sign Norwegian starlet Martin Odegaard.

The 17-year-old was the subject of a tug of war between Europe's top clubs last January but Real won the race for his signature, signing the prodigious teenager from Sromsgodset for a £3million fee.

Odegaard made one substitute appearance under Ancelotti in May 2015, but he hasn't played since and has instead been cutting his teeth in the club's B-team, Real Madrid Castilla, in the third tier of Spanish football.

In Ancelotti's latest book, Quiet Leadership, Ancelotti, who was sacked by Los Merengues last year, says Odegaard's recruitment was a marketing ploy.

"When [club president] Florentino [Perez] buys a Norwegian footballer, you simply have to accept it," Ancelotti said.

"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."

Odegaard is expected to be sent on loan next season, with Spanish outlet AS claiming the player's father wants his son to join a club in either the Premier League or the Bundesliga.