Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard’s leaked texts spark concern as part of new scandal

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is caught up in a controversy that has rocked the Norway national team after their private messages were published in a new book.

City forward Haaland and Gunners skipper Odegaard are yet to reach a major tournament with Norway, who last qualified for EURO 2000. In the team's pursuit of Nations League success during the coronavirus pandemic, it has been alleged that there were intentional efforts to mislead Norwegian health authorities after discovering an 'ethically questionable loophole'.

A new book, 'The Battle of the National Team', explains that Norway's plans were jeopardised in November 2020 after defender Omar Elabdellaoui tested positive for Covid-19. Team doctor Asle B. Kjellsen is alleged to have allowed for 19 Norwegian players, including Haaland, to travel to their games from overseas, rather than Oslo, as Norway's laws did not apply to foreign athletes. However, the book also contains private messages between Haaaland and Odegaard, which has sparked uproar from the Norway camp.

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Leaked group chat messages between Haaland and Odegaard - which were part of an excerpt recently published by NRK - detail then-Borussia Dortmund striker Haaland forwarding a screenshot of the Dagbladet homepage discussing the travel situation. Former Real Madrid midfielder Odegaard replied to Haaland by sending back seven Santa Claus emojis.

The incident proved to be less than ideal preparation for Norway at the time, as they suffered a 3-0 defeat to Romania and then went on to draw with Austria. Addressing the revelations in the book, Kjellsen told NRK: "Some may see me as a cynical doctor without morals after reading the book. I know that I was loyal to my patients, in this case the players of the national team."

The publishing of private messages has sparked dismay within the Norwegian squad. "It's clear that we don't want things like this to leak out," Genoa midfielder Morten Thorsby said. "I understand very well that people outside are interested in this, but it is something we should keep private, it is important that private messages between us remain in the group."

Meanwhile, Norway have made a positive start to their current Nations League campaign, sitting top of their group after three games. Haaland scored a brace in a 3-0 win over Slovenia on Thursday and will hope the team can carry the same form into their clash with Austria on Sunday. The team are without Odegaard, though, who is continuing to recover from the ankle injury he sustained in the September international break.