David Alaba to Leave Real Madrid After Five Seasons
david alaba will leave Real Madrid when his contract expires in the summer, closing a five-season spell that produced nine trophies and 129 appearances. The 33-year-old defender departs after a stretch defined as much by injuries as by the silverware he helped collect.
Alaba’s Real Madrid Run Ends
He joined Real Madrid as a free agent from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2021 and quickly became part of a squad that kept winning. During his time in Spain, Alaba lifted two La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues, and his exit now removes one of the club’s most decorated defenders from the roster.
Florentino Perez said that David Alaba had earned the affection of all Madrid fans for his dedication, his hard work, and an iconic image on the club's path to the 14 European Cup. The club president also called out that celebration as part of Madrid’s history, a reference to the moment Alaba became a fan favourite after lifting a chair during a goal celebration against Paris Saint-Germain at the Bernabeu.
Injury Stoppages Changed His Role
The final stages of his Madrid career were shaped by repeated setbacks. Alaba suffered a serious ACL injury in his left knee in December 2023, returned in January 2025, then suffered a meniscus injury in the same knee in April 2025.
Those problems kept him out of the final five La Liga games of the 2024-25 season and all six matches at the Club World Cup in the United States. He also played only 14 times for Real Madrid last season after returning from the ACL injury, and this season he made 15 appearances with just three starts in La Liga.
Real Madrid’s Centre-Back Picture
Alaba was no longer first choice by the end. Antonio Rudiger, Dean Huijsen, Eder Militao and Raul Asencio are among the centre-backs favoured ahead of him, while Real Madrid already brought in Alvaro Carreras from Benfica for €50million and Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth for £50m last summer.
That leaves the club’s defensive core moving on without him, and it also extends a summer of change that now includes another free departure. For Alaba, the end arrives with the numbers that define his Madrid years: five seasons, nine trophies, and 129 appearances.
