Real Madrid superstars Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Luka Modric congratulated centre-back David Alaba on his return from a long-term injury this weekend. Alaba ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament on December 18, 2023, during Real Madrid’s La Liga match against Villarreal, and was sidelined for a total of 381 days.
The Austrian defender underwent surgery in May 2024. Nacho Fernandes was an early player for Alaba, but left last season to join Al Cadosia.
Things got complicated for Carlo Ancelotti in November 2024 when Eder Militao also suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. Last summer, Ancelotti had to play Aurélien Choameni and La Fábrica product Raul Asensio at the back as the team did not sign any backup defenders.
Alaba made his long-awaited return in Real Madrid’s recent La Liga match against Las Palmas on January 19th. Alaba, 32, started on the bench, replacing Antonio Rudiger in the 76th minute.
After the match, several Real Madrid superstars congratulated David Alaba on his return. Jude Bellingham posted a photo of himself hugging the Austrian defender on Instagram and wrote:
“Welcome home my brother @davidalaba!!! I missed you for over a year and it was incredible to see you stay positive every day despite the pain and adversity you faced. A great win and a return to the top to add to the great moment.”
Vinicius Jr. shared a photo of the two on his Instagram story and captioned it:
“I’m really happy to see you on the pitch again.” (Translated from Portuguese via Google)
Newly signed superstar Kylian Mbappe had kind words for the 32-year-old.
“So happy to see you again. My favorite brother @davidalaba,” he wrote under a photo of the Austrian centre-back on Instagram.
Finally, veteran midfielder Luka Modric celebrated Alaba’s return by sharing a photo of him on Instagram and writing:
“I’m so glad Brate is back!”
Alaba joined Real Madrid from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2021 following the transfer of Bosman, after more than 13 years with the Bavarian giants.
Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham could adjust his contract to earn as much as Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior: report
Real Madrid could reportedly adjust the terms of superstar midfielder Jude Bellingham’s contract to bring his wages in line with those of Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior. The Englishman joined Los Blancos in 2023 from Borussia Dortmund for a huge fee of 113 million euros.
He became one of the Spanish giants’ best players from his first season, scoring 23 goals and providing 13 assists in 43 competitive games. Despite getting off to a slow start this season, Bellingham seems to have found his groove recently. He has scored 9 goals and provided 7 assists in 26 games so far.
Real Madrid will reward Jude Bellingham with a contract arrangement that will see him receive the same salary as Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior, according to a report from Spanish news outlet AS.
According to Madrid Universal, Vinicius Junior is Real Madrid’s highest earner, receiving a whopping 20 million euros per season in the final two years of his contract. The Brazilian is followed by Kylian Mbappé, who has a net income of 15 million euros a season. However, he receives a large bonus.
Bellingham’s contract expires in 2029 and he will earn €9 million a season. However, the club will reportedly increase his terms to match the high salaries of Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe, taking into account his contribution in a short period of time.
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