Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has spoken out about his decision to depart Chelsea for free at the end of the current campaign.
The former Roma stopper is set to become a free agent at the end of June and according to reports, he has already signed for Real Madrid on a four-year deal that will see him net between €9-10m a season.
Losing Rudiger is a big blow for the west Londoners, with many fans no doubt wondering if the government sanctions currently in place on owner Roman Abramovich had any bearing on the German’s decision to leave.
Well, when speaking after the FA Cup final on Saturday, which Chelsea lost on penalties, Rudiger would answer exactly that:
“I don’t want to go into deep things,” the German international replied when asked if there was a chance he would have stayed at Chelsea without the sanctions being in place. “There was a chance but sanctions was not the problem.”
Rudiger then spoke about how he is thankful to the club but wanted to have a different ending to his time there:
“It’s not only about one side, it’s about both sides,” Rudiger explained. “Chelsea have been great to me and I have been great for Chelsea. I am very, very thankful. Me, my family, I became a man here. My kids were born here and everything. London and especially Chelsea will always be special to me.
“It’s been five years with ups and downs as normal. There were a lot of positive things, but that’s why I’m even more frustrated because I wanted to have a different ending.”
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