Football: 16-year old sets Real Madrid record

16-year old Norwegian footballer Martin Odegaard has become Real Madrid's youngest ever player. Photo / AP

16-year old Norwegian footballing sensation Martin Odegaard has become Real Madrid's youngest ever player this morning.

Odegaard made his debut with Real Madrid's first team on the final day of Spain's La Liga today, aged 16 years, five months and six days.

The Norwegian teenager replaced Ballon d'Or holder Cristiano Ronaldo in the 58th minute of Madrid's match against Getafe at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Ronaldo had already scored three goals to give La Liga runner-up Madrid a 5-3 lead in a game that had no implications on either team's final position in the standings.

Odegaard had previously become the youngest player to feature in a UEFA European Championship fixture, aged 15 years and 300 days, when he came off the bench for Norway against Hungary in October of 2014.

Odegaard joined Madrid in January and had played for its "B" team in the third division since then under club great Zinedine Zidane.

He surpasses Alberto Rivera as the youngest player to don a Madrid shirt, with Rivera making his debut aged 17 years and three months. The Spanish midfielder scored on his debut in 1995, but didn't stick with the Spanish giants, eventually joining lower-league sides before retiring in 2014.

Real Madrid won the contest 7-3.