Will Real Madrid regret going after David Alaba?

It has often been said that this is going to be a big summer for Real Madrid. Reportedly, there will be many departures, and many players from different clubs across Europe have also been linked to Real Madrid. Out of all those names, the most linked and most probable singing is that of David Alaba.

According to famous journalist Fabrizio Romano, Alaba’s signing is almost done. The 28-year-old Austrian international’s contract with Bayern Munich is set to expire this summer, and he will arrive as a free transfer with reported wages of 12 million euros per year. He is a talented player, and there is no doubt in his quality, but do Real Madrid really need him?

In my opinion, the club might actually end up with regret, and there is a large possibility of this project ending up as a failure. Let us look at the reasons why Alaba’s signing is a bit concerning.

David Alaba has been playing as a center-back for Bayern Munich, particularly in the last two seasons. He has been an important part of the Bayern setup that won a sextuple under Hans-Dieter Flick. But will he get to play at the same position after arriving at his reported new club?

Which position would David Alaba play for Real Madrid?

Have a look at the current defensive unit of Real Madrid. It consists of the legendary Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Nacho Fernandez and Eder Militao. But there are doubts if the same set will continue next season, as Raphael Varane is expected to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season, and Sergio Ramos’contract is set to expire this summer.

With each passing day, the possibility of a potential Raphael Varane departure looks increasing, but Ramos is expected to renew with Real Madrid, according to the latest report from ABC Deportes. Considering a scenario where Varane leaves and Ramos stays, will Alaba really get to start over Sergio Ramos or even Eder Militao in that case, especially after his phenomenal performances in recent weeks?

Alaba is a superb ball-playing defender, but honestly, he is an error-prone centre-back, and he isn’t a great tackler. His vulnerabilities were often exposed at Bayern Munich, but the team’s attacking setup and their ability to outscore their opponents didn’t lead to greater criticism of Alaba. And considering the level of defending shown by the one-club man Nacho Fernandez and Eder Militao in recent weeks, which is indeed the level required to survive at Real Madrid, it’s difficult to imagine Alaba starting over one of them.

And there has been a lot of speculation about Alaba being a potential Sergio Ramos replacement, with Ramos’ contract renewal saga still going on. But to be brutally honest, and with all due respect to Alaba, it would be a terrible idea to replace a legend like Ramos with him. Ramos’ record speaks for himself, he’s someone who is considered to be one of the greatest players to ever play in his position.

Now let us consider the other positions in which Alaba can play, which includes that of a left-back and a defensive midfielder. While Casemiro is literally an untouchable and irreplaceable player at Real Madrid, it would be hard to see Alaba start over Ferland Mendy, at least under Zinedine Zidane who trusts his French compatriot a lot. Alaba is offensively sharper than Mendy, but it has been Mendy’s defensive brilliance that made him a sure shot starter ahead of Marcelo.

And coming to a central-midfield role, it’s practically impossible to see him start over any of Toni Kroos or Luka Modric. Even Fede Valverde has found it difficult to displace any of them, while Martin Odegaard found it much more difficult.

This only leads to one conclusion, which is that David Alaba wouldn’t be a definite starter at Real Madrid. But he can cover three positions, and he would be very useful as a utility player. And considering Zinedine Zidane’s rotation policy, he might get more chances. But there’s still a problem here.

Is 12 million euros too much for Real Madrid to spend on David Alaba’s salary?

Ever since the negotiations began between both the parties, Alaba’s agent Pini Zahavi and the player have been adamant about their high wage demands, and they asked for as much as 20 million euros. Finally, they’ve settled for 12 million euros, but it doesn’t sound great.

As I’ve mentioned above, David Alaba would mostly be a utility player. But for a utility player, 12 million euros is a very high number, when you consider the fact that a new arrival would earn as much as the club captain, and would earn more than players like Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Casemiro and many more players, which isn’t great for the dressing room environment.

And at a time when the club is being affected greatly due to the global pandemic, and players are being forced to take wage cuts, this definitely doesn’t sound good. In all honesty, Alaba isn’t a long-term option either He would be 29 by the time the next season kicks off, and realistically he is going to be another short-term signing like Eden Hazard.

Florentino Perez has often made signings with a business vision being given greater priority than the sporting vision. And this signing might actually end up belonging to the same category of signings. And the fact that Perez has been rigid in the renewal of a club captain and club legend, while he has been very lenient in the wage negotiations with a new arrival doesn’t really send a good message to the players and fans of Real Madrid.

Due to all the reasons mentioned above, I do feel that there are high chances of David Alaba’s signing ending up as a disappointing one. And given Alaba’s injury history, we might actually see a case similar to that of Eden Hazard. At this point in time, David Alaba’s signing is all but confirmed. But only time will if Real Madrid is actually going to regret Alaba’s signing, or if he actually turns out to be a successful player.