David Alaba and Bayern stop negotiating: Real Madrid move edges closer

David Alaba's time at Bayern Munich is coming towards an end, and one club the versatile Austrian defender would like to join is Real Madrid, who are strongly considering the prospect of bringing him to the Spanish capital.

The 28-year-old's contract comes to an end next June and he will be free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with other clubs from January 1. This is the date at which Real Madrid's directors will wait until, and they will do so with the acknowledgement of the German club's hierarchy.

Alaba had given Bayern a deadline of December 1 to reach an agreement, so since that day he has had it in his mind that a departure is imminent. However, FIFA rules state that he must wait until there is six months or less of his contract remaining before formally entering into negotiations with other teams.

Bayern were clear from the outset that they were not prepared to meet Alaba's financial demands and, as such, they are set to lose him on a free. Real Madrid, like Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, are waiting until January 1 arrives to make him an offer.

Alaba believes that his time at the Allianz Arena is over, and it would take a dramatic change of events for him to end up staying in Bavaria. He hopes to embark upon a new journey in a league that he has always wanted to play in: Spain's LaLiga Santander. He has said this on several occasions.

Given Barcelona's delicate financial position, the only valid alternative for Alaba when it comes to joining a team in Spain is Real Madrid. No other team can match the player's demands, with reports in Germany stating that he wants around 10 million euros per year.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, are determined to wait for January 1 to arrive in order to not jeopardise the non-aggression pact that Europe's big clubs agreed to months ago. The next step for Los Blancos will be set by the Assembly of Committed Members on December 20, as next year's budgets must first be approved.

There will not be a free run for Real Madrid to sign Alaba, though, with PSG and Chelsea both lurking in the background. Pini Zahavi, the super-agent who took over from the Austrian's father when it came to negotiating his future, is putting the big boys on notice because of the defender's contract situation. It is worth noting that Zahavi has a good relationship with Real Madrid.

The German newspaper Bild reported on Thursday that PSG are the team pushing the hardest to sign Alaba, while Chelsea are ready to put a lot of money on the table as Roman Abramovich looks to assemble another title-winning squad. However, for the time being, Alaba's desire to play in Spain looks set to prevail.