Antonio Rudiger has admitted that he wasn't surprised to see Thomas Tuchel prematurely sacked by Chelsea. The 29-year-old enjoyed working under the former Blues boss during their time together at Stamford Bridge, winning the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
The Germany international played an important role in all the success which Tuchel brought to west London before leaving Chelsea at the end of his contract and joining Real Madrid via a free transfer. football.london understand that Rudiger passed up on a new deal which would have made him the highest-paid defender in the club's history.
But, despite Tuchel's efforts of holding onto the German, the defender left but the duo stayed in touch. Speaking to The Guardian, Rudiger revealed his thoughts on Todd Boehly's decision to sack his former boss and the message he sent to Tuchel after hearing the news.
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"I have good memories and friends from there but life goes on," he said before praising Tuchel's management of the media during Roman Abramovich's sale of the club. "All the questions that came up, the way he handled himself, I think you couldn’t have done it better.
"He took a lot of pressure from a lot of people away. Not only us players. You heard a lot from him. I think it was a very tiring situation for him.
"You have to focus on your job as a manager and then you have all these political questions you have to answer. He was unbelievable."
Rudiger continued: "It hit me. What he achieved in the club, even if it was under the old regime, it was a shock. He gets players that he wants and then all of a sudden he’s gone.
"But it’s Chelsea. It’s also somehow not a surprise. I messaged him and said: ‘Thank you very much for everything you did.’ Not only for me but for all of us. Without him winning the Champions League was a bit far away.
"Chelsea was a chapter on its own," he added. "It was great, great, great. But Real Madrid is the elite club in football. This says it all: in the past nine years winning five Champions Leagues."
Rudiger featured 202 times for Chelsea during his five-year spell there and, despite a shaky start, he quickly grew into a pillar of the Blues' success. As a former employee of the club, the defender's lack of surprise at the sacking of Tuchel just days after the summer transfer window should come as an alarming wake-up call for Boehly.
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