Antonio Rudiger joined Chelsea from Roma in 2017 and has gone on to establish himself as a top centre-back for the Blues. Rudiger has faced a lot of star names since joining the Blues, but it is Lionel Messi who stands out for him.
After facing Barcelona, Rudiger has revealed how he asked for the Argentine’s jersey.
“I have Lionel Messi’s shirt from when we played Barcelona in the Champions League a couple of years ago. It was a big honour for me to play against a player like him so I just asked him after the game when we shook hands,” he told the official Chelsea website.
For Rudiger, the surprise part is that Messi also requested for his shirt as well.
“I thought for sure he doesn’t want mine but then Cesc Fabregas was nearby and he said ‘give him your shirt, he wants your shirt too!’” Rudiger also revealed how he used to have a George Weah jersey which he made by himself as a kid, as his parents didn’t have enough money to buy one.
“My first football shirt? It was a shirt I made for myself,” he added.
“My parents didn’t have so much money to buy me one so I made one for myself – it was number nine, George Weah. “It was just a white t-shirt and I wrote the number nine and his name on the back.”