Antonio Rudiger has defined that though Barcelona got here knocking for him in the summertime, he could not flip down a proposal from Actual Madrid.
- Rudiger left Chelsea in June 2022
- Defender revealed curiosity from Barca
- Selected Madrid attributable to celebrity roster
WHAT HAPPENED? Rudiger says that many golf equipment made contact with him in the summertime after his contract with Chelsea got here to an finish, together with Madrid’s arch-rivals. The German insists he by no means thought-about a change to Camp Nou, nevertheless, with Santiago Bernabeu all the time his first alternative because of the membership’s star energy.
WHAT THEY SAID: “Clearly there have been extra groups, however I solely thought-about two, Chelsea and Actual Madrid,” Rudiger defined to Spanish outlet AS. “They [Barca] knocked on my door, they did. However for me it wasn’t a chance.
“As I advised you earlier than, Madrid for me wasn’t even a dream as a result of it appeared like one thing unattainable. When you have a look at the names which have performed right here: [Zinedine] Zidane, Ronaldo [Nazario], Cristiano [Ronaldo]. To have the prospect to play with [Luka] Modric, [Toni] Kroos or [Karim] Benzema… It was exhausting to say no.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Whereas not all the time a assured starter like he was at Chelsea, Rudiger has nonetheless featured closely for a Actual Madrid group presently defending La Liga and Champions League honours. As membership soccer breaks for the World Cup, Los Blancos presently sit in second place in La Liga, two factors off Barcelona in prime spot.
IN TWO PHOTOS:
Getty PicturesGetty Pictures
WHAT NEXT FOR RUDIGER? Rudiger was referred to as as much as Hansi Flick’s squad to characteristic in Qatar, as Germany look to redeem themselves after a disappointing group stage exit as holders in 2018. Their first match comes towards Japan on November 23.