Verbal agreement with Udinese
According to Fabrizio Romano, David Alaba has reached a verbal agreement with Udinese. The 34-year-old Austrian defender has been a free agent since his contract at Real Madrid expired in June. Only the paperwork remains before an official announcement.
It is a surprise move. Alaba spent years at the top level of European football. Developed at Austria Vienna and made at Bayern Munich, where he won two Champions League titles, he joined Real Madrid in 2021. Over five seasons, he played 131 matches and won 11 trophies before his deal ran out.
Try it for $0.99.
Several options turned down
His last appearance in a Madrid shirt came in May. Alaba then featured at the World Cup with Austria before landing on the market. He did have other options. His father and agent, George Alaba, confirmed he had received plenty of interest, from Europe and the United States. Inter Miami, Union Berlin and Austria Vienna, his boyhood club, were among the suitors in recent weeks.
Alaba’s record is still impressive: four Champions League titles in all and more than 100 caps for Austria. But injuries have heavily restricted his playing time in his final seasons in Madrid, a point several observers are likely to raise before he arrives in Italy.
A physical gamble for Udinese
For Udinese, a Friuli club used to floating around mid-table in Serie A, signing a player with that kind of pedigree is quite a statement. The question now is whether Alaba can get back into a proper match rhythm after seasons disrupted by injury.
Discover the rest of the football news on our site and app mathodds!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply