Praise: “I'm leaving to grow up”

David Alaba (28) is about to end almost a lifetime at Bayern Munich, a club he joined when he was just 16 years old and from which he will leave this summer after 13 years linked to the Bavarian club, with which he has won, among other titles, nine Bundesligas and two European Cups. The Austrian center-back, who has an agreement with Real Madrid pending the official announcement of his signing, has spoken in the official magazine for Bayern partners about his departure.

“It is always difficult when the moment of the end comes and it is no secret that I have always felt very comfortable here,” says Alaba in the interview, collected by Kicker, where he explains his goodbye: “Of course I leave Bayern with a tear in my eyes, but at the same time I am happy for my future. It was not a decision against the club“.

The defender assures that he has made the decision based on his personal growth. “I made the decision for myself. I wanted to do something new and take a step forward. To grow, you must get out of your 'comfort zone', and I put this in quotes because I don't want it to be misunderstood. At Bayern sporting expectations are always extreme, whether they come from those responsible for the club, in the dressing room or from yourself. I want to say that one has to go into the unknown to mature again“.

When asked what he will miss from Bayern, Alaba says: “The dressing room and my teammates, the fans in the stadium, the atmosphere in Säbener Strasse (the sports city of the Bavarian club), where I lived two years at the beginning in the residence for young…”. From those beginnings, he remembers a repeated one with whom he was already a star of the Munich team at that time. “I always remember how at the beginning Ribéry always took me to dinner in the car, when I still did not have a driving license“.