Hansi Flick admits David Alaba is ready to leave Bayern Munich

In his press conference ahead of a game against Augsburg, Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick commented on the David Alaba situation. The Austrian’s contract runs out this summer, and reports out of Spain indicate that he has already signed a pre-contract with Real Madrid. Flick, who has been an ardent supporter of Alaba throughout this saga, doesn’t seem very confident that he will.

“It’s always possible that a player leaves when his contract expires”, said the coach (via TZ). “So far, I have not heard from him. Hope dies last. He’s focused and did well against Freiburg. Currently I can see that things are going in the direction of a possible move.”

That last line is the most important one, because it means that even he’s giving up on the possibility that Alaba will stick around beyond this summer. While reports indicated that Alaba’s camp was already in negotiations with a number of clubs around Europe, Bayern still could’ve had a chance to keep him if they matched his demands. By playing Alaba regularly and supporting him in the media, Flick might’ve hoped to show the player’s value to both his camp and the club bosses. However, that hope seems to be a thing of the past — Alaba looks ready to leave.

Where could he go next? The coach didn’t comment on that. We know from reports that Real Madrid are the front-runners, but Barcelona and Liverpool are also said to be interested. Apparently, Alaba even had a private medical (not linked to any club) a couple of days ago.

Anyway, no matter where he goes, Alaba is destined for a top European club that will rival Bayern Munich for the Champions League title. Losing him on a free hurts, and no one will be more devastated than Flick himself.

Even though this saga is practically over from a Bayern perspective, we’ll keep an eye on it for now. There are six months left until Alaba officially leaves. Who knows what might happen in that time.