Nicklas Bendtner reveals he had 'damn legendary' clause inserted into his contract

Former Arsenal and Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner has described a clause that was inserted into the final contract of his career as "damn legendary".

The 36-year-old, who announced his retirement from football in June 2021 at the age of 33, scored 113 goals during a 15-year playing career that featured spells at Juventus, Wolfsburg and Rosenborg.

He also spent a rather forgettable three months at hometown club FC Copenhagen before enjoying the final stages of his career at Danish fourth division side Tarnby FF.

Bendtner memorably joined Copenhagen with minutes remaining of the Superliga transfer window, and it turns out they inserted a clause in his deal that was recently described as "legendary" by the man himself.

As reported by The Star, the Danish club wanted to get the 'maximum possible value' out of their star signing so they made some rather unusual demands in his contract.

Bendtner's agent is believed to have said in 2019: “You must accept that it must be stated in the contract that from now until the New Year you must not drink alcohol and you must not ski."

And in a documentary based on his life called 'Nicklas Bendtner: The Portait' – a series that will drop on Viaplay this month – the former striker has recalled that Copenhagen clause.

“I don't think everyone has it in the contract," he said. "Damn legendary.”

Bendtner also texted the club, replying: "I'm ready to play for you and give everything."

The former Arsenal man would make just nine appearances for The Lions before his departure but his much-anticipated arrival in the Danish capital was met with a huge buzz.

In fact, in the space of 17 hours, FC Copenhagen's website momentarily crashed and the club's home shirt was no longer available after 'Bendtner 32' was printed so many times.

Image credit: Getty

Martin Nohr, the Copenhagen fan shop store manager, said they had "never" sold so many shirts in 24 hours.

"There has been huge interest in securing our new home jersey with 'Bendtner 32' on the back, which has meant that the jersey is sold out in all sizes." he told BT.DK.

"We are at an unprecedented level in recent years when it comes to selling jerseys, and there is a huge interest in our jerseys at the moment.

"We have never sold so many jerseys in one day!"

Topics: Denmark, Arsenal, Premier League

Jack Kenmare

Senior Journalist at SPORTbible with a passion for long-form journalism. Almost 10 years’ experience across online and print.

@jackkenmare_