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Even before publicly announcing it in a press conference about a week ago, it was well known that David Alaba would be leaving Bayern Munich after this season. After multiple attempts from Bayern’s front office to negotiate a contract renewal, nothing materialized on that front due to Alaba’s wage demands. Bayern simply couldn’t offer him what he was asking for. Real Madrid has long since been the front runner to sign him, but per a new report from Sky Germany (via Tz) could now be in a solid race to beat Los Blancos to his signature.
Per the report, Alaba has recently had discussions with PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi regarding a move to the French capital. It’s also reported that PSG has made a specific offer to Alaba, though details were not revealed. Of course, it’s known that PSG and Al-Khelaifi had been asking about Alaba’s contract situation at Bayern as early as last summer.
For PSG, acquiring Alaba on a free transfer this summer would be more than ideal. They cannot spend anywhere near the amount of money they’re used to spending on players like Neymar and Kylian Mbappe this summer. With stricter financial fair play regulations and losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, funds aren’t as limitless as the usually seem to be for the Ligue 1 Champions.
PSG could also have a leg up on Real Madrid, though. Alaba has made it clear that it’s his desire to play a central midfield role, which would be more feasible in Paris than it would in Madrid. At Real Madrid, Alaba would have to hope he could supplant Toni Kroos, Casemiro, and Luka Modric in the center of midfield. He might have a better chance of doing so in Paris against the likes of Idrissa Gueye, Leandro Paredes, and Ander Herrera as the natural defensive midfielders. If Alaba was to join PSG, Mauricio Pochettino could have a lot of strong options in midfield, especially since he switches between a double and triple pivot in the central midfield. A double pivot of Alaba and Marco Verratti is something that would certainly be enticing for Pochettino, PSG, and Alaba.
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