David Alaba says he is fully fit and ready to make his Udinese debut as he begins what he describes as a “new chapter” in his career.
The 34-year-old joined Udinese as a free agent in September after leaving Real Madrid at the end of last season. He has been training with the Serie A club for about a week and could feature for the first time against Torino on Monday.
Alaba spent 13 years at Bayern Munich before moving to Real Madrid in 2021. During his time with the Bundesliga club, he won 25 trophies.
He added two LaLiga titles and two Champions League victories with Real Madrid, along with a Copa del Rey, a Supercopa de Espana, a UEFA Super Cup, a Club World Cup and an Intercontinental Cup.
Injuries restricted his involvement during his later period in Madrid. He played only 575 minutes in all competitions last season, but the Austria international says he has no concerns over his current condition.
“I feel good, and I feel ready to play,” Alaba said, as reported by TuttoMercatoWeb.
“I’ve already been training with the team for about a week, and I trained hard in the previous months. I’ve spoken often with [Kosta] Runjaic about my role. I’ve played a lot as a centre-back, and I feel comfortable there.
“I’ve played in other positions too, but mainly I feel good as a centre-back. As for the clubs, I can say that yes, I spoke with other Italian clubs.”
Alaba said he had chosen Udinese because he wanted to continue developing his career rather than focus on speculation about his future.
“I know what kind of player I am, and I’m here to play football. I’m here to write the next pages of my story as a footballer,” he said.
“I have a lot of experience, and I want to put it at the team’s disposal. I’m less interested in the rumours.”
Udinese sit 13th in Serie A after five matches, and Alaba said his conversations with head coach Kosta Runjaic had been central to his decision to join the club.
“I spoke mainly with the coach, Runjaic, and he convinced me of the project here,” he said.
“I took my time to make a decision, and over time I became convinced that this was perhaps the right path. I believe it’s the right step for my career.”
The defender added that his ambition, rather than his previous achievements, had driven the move.
“I decided to come here not because of my past, but because I’m ambitious and I always want more. It’s an important project, and I think it’s the right step for my career,” Alaba said.
“I don’t need to prove anything to myself, but I came here to build a new chapter of my career and to help the team with my quality and experience.”
