Thomas Tuchel confirms Antonio Rudiger will leave Chelsea
Ongoing speculation surrounding Antonio Rudiger’s future with Chelsea was effectively put to bed when it was revealed that the star defender would leave the club at the end of the season, by the Athletic’s Simon Johnson.
The 29-year-old, who has played more minutes this season than any other Chelsea player, will depart on a free transfer after five successful years at Stamford Bridge. Rudiger has grown to become one the world’s finest, grittiest centre-halves under Thomas Tuchel. In fact, he has already made more appearances this season than any other in his Chelsea career, with one month of club football left to play.
Following Chelsea’s hard-fought 1-0 win over West Ham at Stamford Bridge, Tuchel confirmed his marquee defender’s exit. The Champions League-winning manager told members of the press that “The situation is that he wants to leave the club. He informed me of this in a private talk. We gave everything – me and the club – but we could not fight anymore because of the actions.”
When asked if the ongoing delays in new ownership have made a difference, Tuchel added “Without the sanctions we would at least be able to carry on fighting, but our hands are tied. We don’t take it personally. It is his decision…He is a key figure and will stay that way until the end of the season. But it is disappointing. We will miss him a lot. He gives courage in the dressing room. The kind everyone is afraid of, but the kind to play 50-55 games at an outstanding level. He is a top defender in the last one-and-a-half years for me. We then need to find another solution.”
It was revealed that the former AS Roma defender will decide his next destination by the end of next week. Real Madrid are reportedly the frontrunners now, as the club are already in advanced stages of negotiations with Rudiger. Barcelona and Manchester United were linked with his signature as well.
Recent sanctions from the UK government on Roman Abramovich drastically slowed down talks between Chelsea and Rudiger. The latter was understood to have run out of patience due to the uncertainty within the club. Despite the Blues’ latest offer of £230,000-per-week, Rudiger decided against putting pen to paper.
Whilst Rudiger is currently in talks with Real Madrid, Andreas Christensen is poised to leave for FC Barcelona. Chelsea, meanwhile, have been heavily linked to Sevilla’s Jules Kounde.
The Premier League giants will have to find solutions quickly, as they are set to lose one of the most beloved characters of the dressing room. Rudiger is likely to start in Chelsea’s XI when they travel to Manchester United on April 28.
-Akarshak Roy
Twitter: @royakarshak
Photo: Анна Мейер. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.