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Rudiger reveals Chelsea teammate encouraged him to join Real Madrid
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Rudiger reveals Chelsea teammate encouraged him to join Real Madrid

Antonio Rudiger
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The German centre-back left Stamford Bridge after five years to join the Blancos.

Antonio Rudiger has opened up on his free move to Real Madrid, revealing a teammate encouraged him to leave Chelsea.

Rudiger became a crucial player in Chelsea‘s backline after Thomas Tuchel’s arrival, helping them win the 2020-21 Champions League.

However, after the end of his contract at Stamford Bridge, he decided to leave the club as a free agent. Real Madrid stepped up to add Rudiger to their ranks ahead of the next season, officially unveiling him as their player on Monday.  

Asked whether he talked to his Germany teammate Toni Kroos about Madrid, Rudiger responded to Marca“To be honest I didn’t speak to Toni Kroos too much about it here.

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He added: “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.”

Real Madrid took a big step toward rebuilding their backline by signing Rudiger this summer. 

The 29-year-old will play alongside the likes of David Alaba and Eder Militao, who managed to cover for the departures of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane last season.