David Alaba’s Next Steps: Career Still Thriving
David Alaba is between clubs, but he is nowhere near finished. At least, that’s the clear message from his father and adviser, George Alaba, who says interest in the former Bayern Munich and Real Madrid star is flooding in from across the globe.
“There have been numerous enquiries. In the USA, in Europe, everywhere,” Alaba Senior told Kronen Zeitung, brushing aside any suggestion that his son might be drifting towards an early retirement. “It will continue, I know that. He will carry on.”
Real Madrid chose not to extend the defender’s deal beyond the summer after a string of injuries, ending a chapter that still brought more major silverware to an already glittering career. Now 34, Alaba is a free agent, available without a transfer fee and, according to his camp, very much in demand.
Union Berlin have been loosely linked with a move, while reports have also connected the Austrian with Mexican giants Club America and a romantic return to his boyhood club Austria Vienna. The options are varied. The decision, his father suggests, is close.
“He will announce soon what happens next. He is doing excellently,” George Alaba said, hinting that the waiting will not last much longer. Austria Vienna, in particular, are pushing. “David has had calls. They want to, he wants to as well, but at the moment it is a little too early for him. He still has a lot he wants to do in football.”
That hunger is backed by a career résumé that few defenders can match.
From 2008 to 2021, Alaba belonged to Bayern Munich, aside from a one-year loan at TSG Hoffenheim. In Munich, he became part of the club’s modern identity: 431 competitive appearances, 33 goals, 55 assists, two Champions League titles and a stack of domestic trophies that defined an era of dominance. He arrived as a teenager, left as one of the most decorated players in Bayern’s history.
Then came the move to Real Madrid, where he added more Champions League glory to his collection. Injuries gradually restricted his influence, but he still lifted Europe’s biggest prize twice with Los Blancos, underlining his status as a serial winner in two of the sport’s most demanding environments.
His last competitive club outing came in May, in Real’s 4–2 victory over Athletic Club. He has also remained a central figure for Austria, featuring at the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, carrying the captain’s responsibility and the expectations of a football-obsessed nation.
So the question is not whether David Alaba will play again. His father has made that clear.
The real intrigue lies in where a defender with his pedigree chooses to write the final chapters of an already remarkable career.
