Real Madrid reportedly have an edge over Barcelona in the pursuit of a key target, as it’s claimed the appeal of joining Cristiano Ronaldo outweighs that of joining the Catalan giants.
What is clear is that both sides are undoubtedly in need of defensive reinforcements, with Barcelona struggling for quality depth beyond first-choice pairing Samuel Umtiti and Gerard Pique.
As for Los Blancos, aside from Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, question marks could arguably be raised over the other options at Zinedine Zidane’s disposal too.
In turn, it’s understandable why both have been linked with Bayern Munich ace David Alaba, but according to Diario Gol, as re-reported by The Express, it’s Real Madrid who hold the advantage as the versatile Austrian international has told friends that he wants to play alongside Ronaldo.
Despite their struggles this season, Real Madrid remain a European powerhouse capable of competing for major honours year in and year out. As a result, aside from the reported desire to join Ronaldo in the Spanish capital, there are other strong arguments in favour of Alaba picking them, as suggested.
It isn’t all bad news for Barcelona though, as the report goes on to add that another factor in his decision is the fact that he expects Umtiti to sign a renewal at the Nou Camp.
If that materialises, then it would potentially have a negative impact on his playing time at Barca, albeit he’s versatile enough to fill other roles too, but perhaps he’ll have a better chance at landing a more prominent role for Madrid in that case.
It remains to be seen how his future plays out, but at just 25 years of age with almost 300 appearances for Bayern and 60 caps for Austria to his name coupled with countless trophies, Alaba would be a great addition for any squad.