Real Madrid News
Real Madrid defender in love with the club and city, rejected lucrative offer from Saudi
David Alaba’s transition to Real Madrid was as seamless as it gets. Arriving at a difficult time for the club, he did brilliantly with Eder Militao to replace Sergio Ramos and Rafael Varane and has been a regular starter ever since.
The Austrian international is capable of playing both left-back and centre-back. Although he began his career out wide, he is now focused on the central role.
Earlier this week, reports of Alaba’s potential departure from Real Madrid appeared out of the blue.
The speculations, however, suggested that there were teams in Saudi Arabia interested in his signing and did not mention any desire on the player’s part to switch teams.
Sergio Quirante confirms the same in his recent update. According to the Spanish journalist, the defender did indeed receive a very succulent offer from Saudi Arabia a few weeks ago.
However, his entourage suggest that the player never contemplated a departure. He is in love with the team and the city and would not give it up for the monetary upgrade.
A mind-boggling offer
As relayed earlier this week, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad were the party eyeing Alaba’s services in a late swoop this summer.
The middle-east based side were said to be willing to put up a transfer fee of €40 million for his services. Further, they offered him a staggering salary of €25 million.
Considering Real Madrid’s situation however, the Merengues would not sell him for all the money in the world just as the player would not switch loyalties at any price.
The leader at the back
With Eder Militao out injured for the greater part of the ongoing season, David Alaba automatically becomes Carlo Ancelotti’s first-choice centre-back.
He has started recent games paired alongside Antonio Rudiger, and the duo has struck up a strong combination.
In his four league appearances for Los Blancos this season, the 31-year-old has overseen two clean sheets and provided one assist. Defensively, he averages 1.2 interceptions, 0.8 tackles, three clearances, and one duel won per game.
Aurelien Tchouameni has had an exciting start to his career at Real Madrid. Since joining the club for almost €80 million last summer, the young Frenchman has now become a pivotal figure in Real Madrid’s midfield unit.
However, prior to his move to Santiago Bernabeu, the midfielder was closely linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
In a recent interview, Tchouameni opened up on his links to PSG but revealed his decision to join Real Madrid.
Aurelien Tchouameni on PSG links
Talking about speculations linking him to PSG, Tchouameni said (h/t Madrid Zone), “PSG? Frankly, I thought about it. It’s a very big European club, we want the French clubs to succeed.”
“But honestly, when Real Madrid calls you, it’s very complicated to say no,” Tchouameni added.
The midfielder was linked with a move to PSG during his time at AS Monaco. Les Parisiens wanted to sign the youngster as part of their plans to reinforce the midfield unit.
Tchouameni, though, ended up opting for a move to Real Madrid, which turned out to be a prudent decision from the midfielder’s end.
Tchouameni’s career at Real Madrid
Aurelien Tchouameni made a total of 50 competitive appearances during his maiden season at Real Madrid.
Although the Frenchman was not entirely a first-team regular in Carlo Ancelotti’s setup, his stature in the team is expected to grow in the coming years.
Especially as Toni Kroos and Luka Modric move on at the end of the season, there is scope for Tchouameni to become a first-team regular in the Real Madrid midfield in the years to come.
The former AS Monaco starlet has already played a crucial role in the starting eleven so far this season and it is only going to continue as the season progresses.
