Former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich defender David Alaba has revealed that his desire to continue competing at the highest level influenced his decision to join Serie A club Udinese.
The 34-year-old Austria international joined Udinese as a free agent after leaving Real Madrid and has signed a deal that will keep him at the Italian club until the end of the season.
Alaba, a four-time Champions League winner, said he remains determined to compete for honours despite reaching the later stages of his career.
“I’ve had so many experiences and won so much throughout my career, but one thing hasn’t changed, I want to win again,” Alaba said after completing the move.
“I want to compete again. And I want to achieve something special once more. That is the mindset I’m bringing to Udinese.”
The defender had been without a club since departing Real Madrid during the close-season. His last competitive appearance came when he captained Austria at the World Cup, where they were knocked out by eventual champions Spain in the last 32.
Despite an illustrious career that includes two Champions League triumphs with Bayern Munich and two with Real Madrid, Alaba said he is not ready to take things easy.
“I certainly haven’t come to wind down my career,” he said.
“I’m still too ambitious for that, and I still strongly believe in what I can do on the pitch,” he added.
The Austrian also expressed his determination to make an impact in Italy and contribute to Udinese’s ambitions for the season.
“I want to keep pushing, perform at the highest level in Serie A week in and week out, and achieve something meaningful,” he said.
“I’m really excited about this challenge, and I still have a lot to prove to myself,” he stated.
Alaba arrives at Udinese with vast experience at both club and international level, joining a side that has collected four points from their opening five Serie A matches.
The defender has earned 117 caps for Austria and scored 15 goals, while Udinese finished 10th in Serie A last season.
I kept all of Alaba’s direct quotes unchanged and restructured the surrounding copy to make it more original and PUNCH-friendly.
