Bayern Munich regret letting Real Madrid steal top talent

Last summer, Austrian defender David Alaba joined Real Madrid in a quiet free transfer from Bayern Munich. His arrival was largely overshadowed by a number of huge moves across the top European clubs, including those of Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo. Now, after a full season, it has become clear to Bayern Munich that it was a mistake to let the defender simply walk away.

Alaba took on a huge responsibility as he inherited the number 4 shirt vacated by former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos. While Alaba does not have the explosive personality of the Spaniard, he demonstrated a stable presence in Carlo Ancelotti's back line which helped the club in a massive way after losing both Ramos and Raphael Varane in one blow.

Alaba played a key role in Los Blancos' season, wherein they brought home the Spanish Super Cup, La Liga Santander and UEFA Champions League trophies. In an interview with German publication Die Zeit, Bayern Sporting Director Hasan Salihamidzic admitted that he has been haunted by the half-Filipino defender's departure.

"We offered him a lot of money, from our point of view. There was a meeting with David's agents and we gave him an ultimatum, we told them David had to make a decision," he said, recalling how the contract talks played out. Everyone knows what happened next, with Alaba choosing to sign a pre-contract with Real Madrid several months before his contract expired with the Bavarian giants.

"Looking back now, I would maybe say that wasn't necessary, that it would have been right to give a player of David's quality time to decide."

After a highly successful season with the 14-time European champions, Salihamidzic can now see that Alaba deserved more time, and perhaps a bigger offer as well. A year later, they have now been forced to shell out €70m in order to land Dutch central defender Matthijs de Ligt from Serie A giants Juventus.

Alaba's arrival could also be seen as another genius move from Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, who managed to facilitate the deal quietly while everyone else was busy throwing around money and making poor investments.