Football Presse

Alaba offered to Juventus and Milan as free agent with Salzburg and Saudi options also open

·By Paul Lindisfarne
Share

Real Madrid and Austria defender David Alaba will leave the Bernabéu as a free agent this summer with his agent Pini Zahavi having opened talks with Juventus, AC Milan, RB Salzburg, and clubs from Saudi Arabia and MLS over a new contract.

Corriere dello Sport reported that Zahavi visited Italy last week to hold discussions with both Juventus and Milan about a potential move for the 33-year-old, who will be out of contract when his deal with Real Madrid expires on June 30.

The club has decided not to renew, ending a five-year association that brought Alaba two Champions League titles, two La Liga crowns and a total of 39 career trophies across his time at Bayern Munich and the Bernabéu.

Alaba joined Real Madrid on a free transfer from Bayern in 2021 and made 130 appearances for the club. This season he has been reduced to 14 competitive outings in 415 minutes of football due to persistent calf problems that have limited his availability significantly.

Both Juventus and Milan are assessing the proposal carefully. Alaba can operate at centre-back or left-back and brings Champions League experience that few available players possess at his level. The concern on both sides of the equation is medical — his injury record over the past 18 months is a consideration that outweighs his unquestioned quality.

Zahavi, who also represents Luka Vušković and recently visited Barcelona, has simultaneously held talks with MLS clubs — where Alaba's profile is attractive and the physical demands are more manageable — and with Saudi Pro League sides who can offer significantly larger wages.

RB Salzburg have also emerged as a genuine option, with the Austrian club interested in bringing Alaba home in the role of a senior mentor for their younger players within the Red Bull network. Having been developed at Austria Wien before moving to Bayern as a teenager, Alaba has never played a competitive minute in the Austrian top flight — a detail that could make the Salzburg project personally meaningful.

Alaba will attend the World Cup with Austria this summer as both player and figurehead. Where he lands afterwards will be shaped by what he values most in the final chapter of a career that has produced almost every major honour the game can offer.