Ada Hegerberg: ‘I said we have to base this relationship on brutal honesty’

Accompanying a photo of Ada Hegerberg – characteristic plait sweeping across the left of her head into a ponytail, a wide grin and the Norwegian flag draped around her shoulders – was a simple message on her social channels: “Heia Norge, long time no see”.

After a close to five-year absence, the inaugural women’s Ballon d’Or winner is back in the international fold after months of rumours swirling throughout the world of women’s football.

“I felt now was the right time,” a relaxed and happy-looking Hegerberg tells the Guardian from her home in Lyon. “I missed it, I missed it a lot. Playing for your country, representing your country, is fantastic. Something that sticks deep is the connection with the new generation. I remember the link up with all these young girls and boys when with the national team, feeling that you have a connection and are inspiring them, that was a big deal to me.”

Hegerberg’s decision to step back from the national team was fuelled by a desire to make things better for that new generation. The more she thrived for her club, the more the world mourned her absence from world football’s biggest stages, but the message from the player was clear: more needed to be done to support the women’s national team and grow and develop women’s and girls’ football in Norway for her to wear the shirt.

That goal hasn’t changed, but Hegerberg’s view on how she aids that process has, and the Norwegian Football Federation is an evolved organisation too.

A big factor in Hegerberg’s willingness to get around a table again was the approach of the federation’s president Lise Klaveness, who was elected on 7 March, having been director of elite football for the governing body from 2018. Hegerberg had had limited contact