Antonio Rudiger agrees a four-year contract with Real Madrid – on bigger wages than Chelsea ever offered – as he nears a Stamford Bridge exit after telling Thomas Tuchel he is leaving
Antonio Rudiger is expected to sign for Real Madrid after telling Chelsea he will not be signing a new contract.
The Germany star has reached an agreement with the La Liga club over what is understood to be an initial four year contract at the Bernebeu.The total package will far surpass the £230,000-per-week deal Chelsea were offering Rudiger to stay at Stamford Bridge.However, Sportsmail has learned that Rudiger has turned down bigger offers from elsewhere in Europe to sign for Real.
Barcelona, PSG and Juventus were all interested in Rudiger.
Signing Rudiger has been a long term project for Real, who have courted the centre-back since his days with Stuttgart.
The Spanish giants made their first official offer to Rudiger in January and have viewed the Blues star as a priority signing ever since.
All the necessary paperwork for the move still needs to be completed but it now looks clear that Rudiger will become a Real Madrid player next season.
It was confirmed by Thomas Tuchel after Chelsea’s 1-0 victory over West Ham that the German international will leave the club at the end of his contract this summer.
Government sanctions left the club with their ‘hands tied’, with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus holding talks with the German
Tuchel insisted Chelsea would ‘find solutions’ but conceded that signing another player of that calibre would be tough, even without sanctions.
‘Even then it will be incredibly difficult because Toni is a big personality, a big leader and he takes fear away from other people,’ said Tuchel.
‘We will miss him a lot. It will be challenging but, no matter how much I love Toni and how big a role he has played, there will be life at Chelsea without Toni Rudiger. We will find solutions.’
Rudiger, 29, missed Sunday’s victory through injury, with Christian Pulisic’s 90th-minute winner securing all three points after Jorginho’s late penalty miss.
His departure only reinforces the importance of a swift takeover of the club.
‘You cannot pull grass so it grows faster. We wish for it, we have to deal with the reality and at the moment the sanctions are still in place, the situation is not clear for next season,’ added Tuchel.
Source:dailymail
