“Do you really believe Austria are that stupid?” Ever wilder speculation over David Alaba

Almost three months after his departure from Real Madrid, David Alaba is still without a club. What comes next for the 34-year-old?

Few players on the market can match David Alaba's profile. The 34-year-old Austria defender won the Champions League four times with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, as well as a stack of domestic titles. But Real did not extend his contract at the end of June. Since then, Alaba has been searching for a new club without success.

That has already led TV pundit Dietmar Hamann to wonder whether Alaba's career could be over. "The question is whether he still can do it," Hamann said on Sky. "The longer it goes on, the greater the probability that we will not see him on the football pitch again." Alaba has battled persistent injury problems for years, including a cruciate ligament tear and a meniscus tear. Across the past two seasons, he managed just 1,174 minutes for Real.

Still, he did enough in the summer to feature at the World Cup with Austria. Alaba started all four matches as captain before the last-16 exit against Spain. For the upcoming international window, though, head coach Ralf Rangnick left out Alaba, who has not officially retired yet. He is currently working individually to stay fit.

HSV, Mexico, Austria: where will David Alaba move?

Over recent months, Alaba has been linked with clubs in all directions. Reported interest from Lazio, Manchester United and Inter Milan came to nothing. MLS has also been mentioned as a possible destination, specifically Inter Miami alongside Lionel Messi. Most recently, the rumours have become even more far-fetched: Bild linked Alaba with Hamburger SV, while Spanish newspaper Marca paired him with Mexican giants Club America.

Elsewhere, there has been talk of a return to youth club Austria Vienna. How seriously the club are pursuing a deal recently sparked a public row in Austria between former Austria coach Frenkie Schinkels and defensive leader Aleksandar Dragovic, Alaba's long-time team-mate in the national side.

"Don't be offended: but if no one at Austria Vienna has asked about Alaba, the entire board should be locked up," Schinkels said on his podcast. When asked about those remarks, Dragovic replied on Sky: "Do you really believe Austria are so stupid that they haven't called David? We need to keep things in perspective. I understand, of course, the gentlemen want to be funny and get clicks. But you also need to keep the ball on the ground. We are not sleeping in Wien-Favoriten."

Any club that wants to sign Alaba will have to deal with legendary Israeli agent Pini Zahavi. During Alaba's free transfer from Bayern Munich to Real in 2021, Uli Hoeness branded Zahavi a "money-grabbing piranha".