Serie A Daily Report - 2026-09-24: Udinese sign David Alaba on one-year contract

Udinese officially signed David Alaba on Thursday, 24 September 2026, after his departure from Real Madrid. The 34-year-old Austria defender agreed a contract running until 30 June 2027, arriving as a free agent after five seasons in Spain. Alaba previously spent 11 years with Bayern Munich, winning two Champions League titles and 10 Bundesliga crowns, before adding two more European Cups with Real Madrid. He made 132 appearances for the Spanish club and won 11 trophies there, according to Goal, while ANSA also highlighted his 117 international caps and status as Austria captain.

Udinese general manager Franco Collavino described the signing as a source of “immense satisfaction” and called Alaba an established champion, leader and exemplary professional. The club’s announcement also stressed his technical quality, leadership and tactical versatility, qualities that have allowed him to operate in several defensive positions. His arrival gives Udinese a player with an unusually decorated career and significant experience at the highest level of European football. Alaba’s one-year agreement keeps the commitment defined while offering the Friuli club an experienced figure for the 2026-27 Serie A campaign.

sources title and url copied exactly from input

sources title and url copied exactly from input

Serie A and three other leading European leagues were reported on Thursday to be preparing a joint statement calling for urgent FIFA governance reform. The Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga are expected to join Italy’s top flight in demanding greater consultation on issues including the global football calendar. The statement was still being formally agreed and was expected to be published on Friday, according to Sky News reports carried by Sky Sports and dpa. It was unclear whether the leagues would explicitly call for Gianni Infantino to resign.

The proposed statement would seek more independent oversight at FIFA and a meaningful role for leagues in major decisions, according to an unnamed football insider quoted by Sky. The move followed a legal complaint filed by the European Leagues Association over FIFA’s handling of the International Match Calendar. Infantino has faced criticism after a proposal involving the commercial rights to major tournaments, including the World Cup, and has announced an external governance review while maintaining that he intends to seek re-election in March 2027. The intervention would give domestic competitions a collective voice in that dispute.

sources title and url copied exactly from input

sources title and url copied exactly from input

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said on Wednesday that the club had identified a 38-hectare site in eastern Naples for a proposed 70,000-seat stadium. Speaking while receiving an award from the Foreign Press Association in Rome, De Laurentiis said the project would include 120 VIP boxes, restaurants and an interactive museum. Napoli currently play at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, which opened in 1959 and hosted five matches at the 1990 World Cup. The stadium lost 10,000 seats for safety reasons last year, underlining the practical issues behind the club’s search for a new home.

De Laurentiis said the planned venue would offer more than football, including virtual games featuring former Napoli stars such as Diego Maradona, Edinson Cavani and Gonzalo Higuain. His comments represented an outline of an ambitious project rather than a confirmed construction timetable. A move away from the Maradona would carry major sporting and cultural significance for Napoli, whose current ground is inseparable from the club’s identity and history. The proposed capacity would also make the new arena one of the largest in Italian football, with hospitality and museum facilities intended to broaden its commercial appeal.

sources title and url copied exactly from input

Pietro Pellegri returned to training with Torino on Thursday after a series of injury problems, according to Football Italia and Yahoo Sports. The 25-year-old striker was reportedly hoping to push for a Serie A comeback when domestic football resumes after the international break. Pellegri first attracted attention at Genoa, becoming the youngest Serie A debutant at the time, aged 15 years and 280 days. He later joined Monaco in January 2018 in a deal reported to be worth €25 million including bonuses, before spells involving Milan and Torino.

Pellegri’s return to group work offered a possible route back into regular first-team contention after a difficult period. He remains notable for becoming the first Italian player born in the 21st century to appear and score in Serie A, as well as the only 16-year-old to score twice in a match in one of Europe’s top five leagues. Those early milestones raised expectations that injuries subsequently disrupted. Torino’s decision-making around his involvement after the international break will determine whether this latest training return can develop into a sustained comeback.

sources title and url copied exactly from input

sources title and url copied exactly from input

Edoardo Bove announced on Thursday that a documentary about his cardiac arrest and return to football would be released in Italian cinemas soon. Titled “In Un Battito” (“In A Heartbeat”), the film was directed by Giovanni Troilo and follows the midfielder’s collapse during Fiorentina’s Serie A match against Inter on 1 December 2024. Bove was revived on the pitch and later received an implanted cardiac defibrillator. The incident occurred while he was on loan at Fiorentina from Roma, ending his immediate prospects of continuing in Italy’s professional game.

Bove has since resumed his career in England with Watford, where he had made seven appearances this season, according to Football Italia. Italian law prevents athletes with implanted defibrillators from participating in professional sport, meaning the midfielder had to confront the possibility of losing his career after coming close to losing his life. The documentary centres on that personal and sporting upheaval, including the question “Who am I without football?” Its release gives Bove an opportunity to frame the recovery in his own terms while documenting a case that had wider consequences for Serie A.

sources title and url copied exactly from input

sources title and url copied exactly from input

Alessandro Romano earned his first senior Italy call-up on Thursday after making an impressive start to his first Serie A season with Cagliari. The 2006-born midfielder scored on his league debut against Parma and was described by Goal as Cagliari’s standout midfielder across the opening five matchdays. Coach Fabio Pisacane has placed his trust in the teenager, who was sold by Roma in June for €5 million plus bonuses, with the total potentially reaching €6.5 million. Romano’s progress has made him one of the early stories of Cagliari’s campaign.

Romano’s emergence has also reportedly attracted attention from AC Milan and Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim, while Cagliari president Tommaso Giulini was said to be delighted with the player’s development. Goal reported that his value had risen to around five times the fee Roma received, although that remains an assessment rather than a confirmed market price. The immediate significance is his rapid transition from youth football to Serie A and the senior international set-up. Italy’s decision to call him up reflects the premium placed on young domestic talent during a period of wider concern about its development.

sources title and url copied exactly from input

sources title and url copied exactly from input