“I spoke to him and he told me to go” – Rudiger finally reveals the Chelsea player who helped him in securing his Real Madrid move
Antonio Rudiger, a former defender for Chelsea, recently signed a contract with Real Madrid in Spain.
Rudiger chose not to renew his contract with Chelsea and instead chose to transfer to Madrid as a free agent.
The 29-year-old center defender has acknowledged that Mateo Kovacic, who left Real Madrid for Chelsea, spoke highly of the Los Blancos and persuaded him to switch teams to Real Madrid.
“To be honest I didn’t speak to Toni Kroos too much about it here.. Antonio Rudiger told Marca.
“I spoke more to Mateo Kovacic about Real Madrid and he told me quite a lot.
“And because of him speaking a lot with [Luka] Modric, and because of him, I spoke with him and he told me ‘You’re going to enjoy it here, it’s the right step to do.’
“I never heard anyone say anything bad about Madrid. I’m looking forward to starting.”
Rudiger also claimed that he was only going to leave Chelsea for Real Madrid.
“Yes, there was interest from Barcelona,” he told a press conference. “But I told my brother it was Real Madrid or nothing.
“What I can promise is, I will give everything for the club and I want to win as many trophies as possible.
“You come to a big, big, massive club – that’s a huge step for myself. But I try to enjoy the pressure.
“I see myself as fortunate to be here, to do what I love.
“I was in the trophy cabinet of Real Madrid and there the pressure starts. This is something that you cannot run away from. You have to try to enjoy it.”