Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Odegaard admits Barcelona wanted to sign him as a teenager.

The on-loan Real Madrid whiz gave an interview to Noticias de Gipuzkoa where he revealed that Barça actually tried to sign him.

"A lot of teams called my father and I travelled there (to Barcelona) once, but it didn't work out," admitted the Norwegian ahead of La Real's clash with Barca this weekend.

Odegaard admitted that his style of play would have been a good fit at Barça.

"Maybe, although I believe that Madrid also want to win and play attacking football, but I don't know. I like Spanish football because all of the teams play well."

He's particularly looking forward to coming up against Lionel Messi.

"Cristiano (Ronaldo) and he are the best players so it's special to play against them. Of course I like his style. Alongside Cristiano he's the best player and I could learn a lot watching him do things. But he's on another level and I don't want to compare my style of play or anything with him! But, yeah, he's incredible."