Antonio Rudiger’s protracted free transfer to Real Madrid has been all but completed, with a formal announcement expected at the end of the season.
Chelsea had hoped to keep the Germany international beyond the end of his current contract, but failed to come to terms with a player who has been integral to the success achieved under Thomas Tuchel. In total, it is believed the Blues made three separate offers to the 29-year-old, the last of which would have seen him pick up £230,00-per-week.
But after failing to reach an agreement during the first half of the season, their hands were tied in the second, following the news that owner Roman Abramovich had been sanctioned. The UK Government’s decision to freeze the Russian billionaire’s assets and place Chelsea under a special operating licence, meant they were unable to continue negotiations to keep Rudiger at Stamford Bridge.
A host of European clubs were chasing the centre-back’s signature, with teams from abroad able to discuss a pre-contract agreement from January 1. And Champions League finalists Real Madrid have won the race, with the free agent set to sign a four-year deal at the Bernabeu.
Chelsea were prepared to make Rudiger the highest paid defender in the club’s illustrious history, but their offer was blown out of the water by Madrid, with Rudiger set to see his weekly wage jump from £100,000-per-week to a whopping £400,000.
The Athletic reported that Rudiger told his Chelsea team-mates as early as last month that he intended to join the Spanish champions, who could become 14-time kings of Europe by the time his move is officially confirmed at the end of May. Madrid’s valuation of the player is also crystal clear amid a release clause of almost £350m being inserted into the deal.
And while Tuchel has suggested that the sanctions imposed on Abramovich were the deciding factor, there is a feeling that Rudiger’s demands prohibited Chelsea from ever being able to match what Los Blancos were willing to put on the table.
Despite his imminent exit, Tuchel will continue to select Rudiger at the heart of his defence and will start against Leeds United on Wednesday, before being involved in the FA Cup final vs Liverpool at Wembley at the weekend. Rudiger’s defensive colleague Andreas Christensen is also set to move to LaLiga, with reports the Dane will join Barcelona at the end of his contract.
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But Tuchel is adamant that the departing players will do all they can to finish their Chelsea careers on a high: “I’m absolutely convinced that they want that. Maybe they underestimated the impact that decisions to sign for another club have, the impact that it has.
“I have the feeling that they experience it now themselves, but that they don’t want this and they don’t do it intentionally, but this is the case, we feel that it is different, a different approach to the games.
“Maybe these kind of shock experiences are necessary to really wake up and not go out of the season like this. Toni (Rudiger) is important. You never finish with development and this is a key moment for his personal career. He knows it and I think he will step up. It is the moment to do it.”
