Antonio Rudiger is out of contract at Chelsea at the end of the season, and it looks like his partnership with manager Thomas Tuchel will be ending. Per a report by Matt Law, Rudiger rejected an offer of more than £200k per week that was made before Chelsea were hit with sanctions. And it seems like Rudiger is now ready for a new challenge.
When Thomas Tuchel took over at Chelsea, one of the first things that he did was restore Rudiger into a starting spot in his three man defensive line. Kurt Zouma wasn’t comfortable enough on the ball to handle the passing pressure and Rudiger’s adventurousness was needed to make things tick alongside the more conservative Thiago Silva and an ever rotating cast of right sided center backs. It worked wonders. Rudiger and Tuchel have won a Champions League, Club World Cup, and Super Cup together.
Thanks to sanctions on Roman Abramovich, Chelsea can’t make an official offer to Rudiger before the sale of the club is completed, but regardless the signing fees and agent fees will be too high for Chelsea to afford, according to Law. That means Rudiger will be a free agent come season’s end.
One of the best center backs in the world, Rudiger will have no shortage of suitors but Real Madrid could be his next stop. The Spanish super club has long been linked to the German defender and seem set to make a number of aggressive moves this summer. They’ve made no secret of their pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe and have also expressed interest in Bayern Dortmund’s Erling Haaland, though the Norwegian superstar striker seems likely to be headed for Manchester City.
It would be a good signing for Carlo Ancelotti as Los Blancos have struggled defensively this season. Rudiger could either partner with David Alaba or allow Alaba to take up a freer role in the team while giving them more solidity at the back.
