Former Real Madrid player David Alaba is joining Udinese on a free transfer, according to the ever-reliable Fabrizio Romano. Alaba's contract at Real Madrid expired in June, technically, but he played his last game for the club in May.
It had been clear for a few years that his contract was never going to be renewed because of the high salary that the player was on, as well as the injury issues and the general decline that he had gone through over the course of his time at the club.
His first couple of years were really, really good for Real Madrid, but after that, it was difficult to see him getting back to his best, especially after the ACL injury. In his fourth year, he struggled with game time and injuries when he came back after the lay-off, and it just looked like he was a shell of the player who first joined Real Madrid in 2021.
David Alaba's 2021-22 season will never be forgotten
Be that as it may, Alaba definitely deserves his flowers. He was a big reason why Real Madrid won their 14th Champions League title in 2022. He was one of the most consistent players for the team during that time and made the team feel less empty after Sergio Ramos's departure.
He took Ramos's kit number, and it actually looked like a really good transition from one great player to another, even though Alaba wasn't at the level Ramos was in his prime. It just worked out really well for that one season.
After that, obviously, there were injuries, and he got older, but generally speaking, Real fans will think about Alaba as the man who brought the chair in the celebration against Paris Saint-Germainin 2022. He is someone who gave excellent performances one after the other in their road to one of the most entertaining and nerve-wracking Champions League wins of all time.
Alaba’s ball progression, defensive IQ, and general ball-playing ability were very important when Real Madrid were in trouble, and he was able to combine well with Toni Kroos to get the ball as far up the pitch as possible. Now he joins Udinese, which would be a good task for him.
He will do much better there because Serie A, in general, is a slower league than La Liga. Even then, it's going to be very good for the player to get some game time so that he can continue playing for the national team, because he always does well for Austria.
It remains to be seen how much longer Alaba can continue his career, but hopefully he is able to do it for as long as he wants and is able to have a good final season, whenever that is, wherever that is.
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