Leave Chelsea with heavy heart as it has meant everything to me, confesses Antonio Rudiger

But with less than one year left on his contract at the start of the season, fans and critics alike were concerned about the German’s future at Stamford Bridge. Things became even worse after Real Madrid reportedly agreed to a deal with Rudiger set to leave although nothing had been confirmed. That has now changed as the German has confirmed that he is set to leave Chelsea at the end of his contract and does so “with a heavy heart”. Rudiger added that his contract negotiations had stalled months ago which essentially complicated things. 

“I leave this club with a heavy heart. It has meant everything to me. Even this season, with all the complications, has been enjoyable. Football is football. We are blessed to play a game for a living that we would play for free anyway. In fact, when the financial restrictions were being rumoured, we were all laughing about having to take a bus or a smaller plane or whatever to the matches. I mean, a small plane? Oh no!!! What am I going to do?  Come on. Do you know where I come from?” Rüdiger told Players’ Tribune.

“After the first offer, there was a long gap of just nothing. We’re not robots, you know? You cannot wait for months with so much uncertainty about your future. Obviously, no one saw the sanctions coming, but in the end, other big clubs were showing interest, and I had to make a decision. I will leave it at that, because business aside, I have nothing bad to say about this club.”