David Alaba offered to AC Milan and Juventus on free transfer as Real Madrid exit takes shape
David Alaba's exit from Real Madrid has moved into the offers stage. The Austrian's agent Pini Zahavi has put him in front of AC Milan and Juventus on a free transfer this week, with both Serie A clubs now running the same internal calculation: a 33-year-old four-time Champions League winner against an injury record that has eaten into his last year and a half.
Why Madrid are letting him go
Alaba's contract at the Bernabeu expires on 30 June. Madrid have already decided not to offer fresh terms, ending a five-year run that brought him eleven trophies at the club, including two Champions League titles and two LaLiga crowns since he arrived from Bayern Munich on a free transfer in 2021.
The football case for moving on is straightforward. An ACL tear in December 2023 cost Alaba most of a season, and complications in his recovery dragged the absence past a year. He returned this term as one of several options at centre-back rather than a fixture, and his playing time stayed limited even before another muscle injury kept him out of the squad through the back end of the campaign.
What Zahavi is selling
The pitch from Zahavi to Italian clubs is built on Alaba's positional flexibility and the trophy cabinet. Bayern Munich gave him 431 appearances, ten Bundesliga titles and two Champions League winners' medals from the 2013 and 2020 trebles. Madrid added two more European Cup wins, in 2022 and 2024, on top. Italian outlets reporting the offer have flagged a career haul of senior trophies at the two clubs placing him among the most decorated players in European club football, with Alaba able to slot in at left-back, centre-back or in front of the defence as a holding midfielder.
Milan and Juventus have both taken the proposal in but neither has committed. The technical case is clear. The medical case is the awkward one, and people on both sides are expected to study his recent training and match data carefully before any contract talks open.
Where else he could land
Italy is not the only destination on the table. Major League Soccer clubs have made their interest known, and interest from Saudi Pro League sides has been reported, though Zahavi has publicly distanced Alaba from that route. A return to Austrian football has also been mentioned as a romantic option for a late-career homecoming, with Alaba having come through the youth and reserve setup at Austria Wien before Bayern signed him in 2008.
The decision will likely come down to what Alaba himself wants from his next contract: another shot at Champions League football, the wage cheque, or a softer minutes load to finish his playing days. Milan and Juventus can both offer European football and a defensive rebuild that fits his profile. The Saudi and MLS routes offer the bigger wages and a softer minutes load. Whatever he picks will reshape someone's summer.
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