- 20 Nov 2024
Rudiger admits he almost left Chelsea for PSG or Tottenham last year
Stefan Bienkowski
- Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
- 5 min read
Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has revealed that he almost left the club last September after receiving offers from Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho.
Rudiger made the move to Stamford Bridge in 2017 after signing from Roma for a reported fee of around £32 million.
Following a groin injury that ruled him out of the first half of last season, the German international worked his way into a starting role in Frank Lampard’s side for the remainder of the campaign.
However, during Chelsea’s summer spending spree the Premier League giants brought in central defenders Malang Sarr and Thiago Silva from Nice and PSG respectively and Rudiger’s game time took a notable hit as a result.
In the first 16 match days of this current Premier League campaign the defender made just two appearances and spent most of the time on the bench.
However, following the arrival of Thomas Tuchel as the new Chelsea manager, Rudiger has returned to the first team and nailed down his previous position.
Yet things could have been very different, had the defender pushed for a move in last summer’s transfer window.
“Some things I saw coming but then I was not in the squad, I didn’t see that coming but I took it on the chin,” Rudiger said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“I was close [to leaving] there were two teams that maybe one I was considering was PSG and then there was Mourinho. I had a chat with [Frank] Lampard and then I was back on the bench.”
Will Rudiger leave Chelsea next season?
Although Rudiger seems to have worked his way back into Tuchel’s first team plans, the defender’s future remains an intriguing topic while his contract continues to run down.
The 28-year-old talent currently has a deal at Chelsea that runs until the summer of 2022, meaning the club may have to sell him this summer or risk losing him for free if an extension can’t be agreed.
However, Rudiger makes no secret of his intention to stay and would be willing to extend his current deal if an offer was forthcoming.
“Like I always said, to me, even at the beginning of the season when things didn’t go my way, I was always calm, like now,” said he defender.
“At the end of the day, I cannot give myself a contract. I love it here at Chelsea, they will always be my priority number one.”
