Real Madrid have been pushing to sign Alphonso Davies before the 2023/24 season even started. Although they brought Fran García back into the fold after two standout seasons with Rayo Vallecano, Los Merengues knew early on that they wanted to pursue an ambitious upgrade at left back to definitively settle a position that has been in question since Marcelo’s decline.
Davies has set a benchmark at the left back position since the 2019/20 season when Bayern Munich won the treble, and only AC Milan’s Theo Hernández can truly push the Canadian superstar as the best player in the world at the position.
Real’s early flirtation with Davies is paying off, as the recruitment efforts of David Alaba and Vinícius Júnior have likely played a role in the left back rebuffing Bayern’s admittedly tame renewal offers.
Alphonso Davies is the next Toni Kroos
And with one year left on his contract, a frustrated Davies may follow the footsteps of another formerly underappreciated Bayern star in Toni Kroos, exiting the club for pursue more glory at the Santiago Bernabéu for a transfer fee well below his actual quality.
After Bayern bizarrely decided to send Davies an ultimatum that he needs to take their lesser contract offer by April or be sold, Davies’ agent Nick Huoseh took a public shot through BILD at a Bayern organization increasingly mired in dysfunction:
“We were close to an agreement a year ago. Then the entire club management was replaced. We didn’t hear anything for seven months. Although I tried during this time to contact the club myself.
Now we are being given an ultimatum and are supposed to react within two weeks because the club is under pressure and took a long time to reposition itself in the management? That’s not fair.
It’s a very important contract in Alphonso’s career and we’re supposed to make the decision without knowing who the coach will be next season or what the team looks like. That’s why we think it’s unfair to react to the ultimatum.”
Bayern Munich have become unstable
Davies’ agent making that strong of a statement in public is not at all unwarranted, and it is a clear sign that both he and the player are very upset with the club for their stance.
It makes it clear to those from the outside that Davies is another step closer to Real Madrid, a club he has admired through constant media reports and through the fact that he has been so slow to consider re-signing with Die Roten.
Real Madrid have shown how much they value Davies as a key piece of their project, and they represent a more stable situation as a club with better players, ascending players, and a top coach who values said players. Thomas Tuchel is on the way out already, marking a period of instability for a Bayern side that has been disappointing at the Champions League level and is now slipping domestically.
At this point, it is extremely difficult – if not impossible – to envision Davies remaining in Bavaria. Since Real Madrid are the biggest club in the world with a huge need at left back and the strongest suitors for Davies, it is safe to assume he is headed to the Bernabéu until further notice. Chalk that one up as another win for Florentino Pérez and Juni Calafat.