You’d be at Barcelona: Benfica’s Schjelderup reveals surprise chat | OneFootball

Andreas Schjelderup is experiencing one of the most remarkable moments of his career. The Benfica winger is part of Norway’s national team at the World Cup and does not hide his pride in representing his country in a final stage, something that for many years seemed distant for a generation that grew up without seeing the national team in major international tournaments.

Speaking to the podcast Spillerhotellet, from the Norwegian Football Federation, the player talked about the emotion of taking part in the competition and recalled the journey he took to reach this level: “We all grew up without Norway in the final stages and dreamed of this moment. Suddenly, we are there. Everything happened very quickly,” he said.

During the conversation, Schjelderup also revealed the close relationship he maintains with national team coach Stale Solbakken, recalling an episode dating back to his teenage years. When he was just 15, the winger visited Copenhagen, a club then managed by Solbakken, who tried to convince him to continue his career in Denmark.

“I visited Copenhagen at 15, when he was the coach. He was very kind, spoke with me and my father, but I ended up choosing Nordsjaelland. I think he still hasn’t gotten over it. He reminds me of it at every training camp,” he added.

After Schjelderup’s decision, Copenhagen moved on to another option in the market and signed Roony Bardghji, a young Swedish talent who later stood out in European football and eventually moved to Barcelona in the summer of 2025. The forward’s path has since become a frequent argument used by Solbakken to joke with the Norwegian international. “He told me I would be at Barcelona now if I had accepted the invitation,” Schjelderup revealed.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.