Fabrizio Romano confirms David Alaba will join Real Madrid

Fabrizio Romano has bad news for Liverpool fans after Bayern Munich defender David Alaba has struck a deal to join Real Madrid on a free transfer next summer.

The 28-year-old defender has ended his 12-year stint in Bavaria and will sign a four-year contract with the Spanish champions in the coming weeks, according to The Guardian.

The 73-time Austrian will fulfill a childhood “ dream ” by signing with Zinedine Zidane after refusing the approaches of other European heavyweights.

According to Romano, Liverpool had been making moves to sign Alaba since October 2020, with PSG also maintaining an interest in the versatile defender.

After turning down three contract extensions with Bayern, Alaba will sign a pre-contract deal with Madrid worth around € 230,000 (£ 204,000) per week after tax.

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Indeed, the capture of Alaba by Madrid is a setback on the part of Liverpool. The Reds had been following the Champions League winner for months, after all.

However, as Melissa Reddy recently mentioned, Liverpool had no long-term interest in investing heavily in Alaba.

Of course, his contractual scenario was almost identical to that of Thiago Alcantara. However, while Liverpool appreciate the skills and versatility of the defender, he is considered too short compared to Virgil van Dijk (1.93m), Joel Matip (1.95m) and Joe Gomez (1.88m) .

Not to mention the player’s salary claims, Alaba is said to be Liverpool’s highest paid player at the club. It would have left a bitter taste, especially for soon-to-be-broke stars such as Wijnaldum.

If Liverpool have to sign another center-back, the club will do so with a long-term vision to replace Matip. Club sources said Jurgen Klopp also had no ambition to sign a player around the age of 30.

Matip is 29, after all it would hardly make sense to buy a relatively similar replacement at a similar age.

Yet the research continues. It looks like Liverpool are really planning to wait until the summer when need and availability are more likely to match.

Josh is a sports reporter from the south who has previously reported on the Reds at home and outside of the press. His idol is Joel Matip while Madrid 19 to date is still unclear for him.