Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger is reportedly set to become one of the world’s best-paid defenders – but only if he leaves Stamford Bridge next summer.
Rudiger was on the fringes under Frank Lampard. There was talk at the tail end of the 2020 summer transfer window that the German was going to moved on – potentially to Tottenham, of all clubs.
However, Rudiger stuck around at Chelsea to prove his worth and was given the opportunity to do so after Thomas Tuchel took the reins and slotted him into the left-centre-back role.
That proved to be a masterstroke, with Rudiger having been one of the finest defenders in Europe this calendar year and influential in Chelsea’s Champions League-winning campaign.
However, his contract with the Blues is due to expire in the summer of 2022, meaning he is merely three weeks away from being able to sign a pre-contract agreement with any interested parties.
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According to the Daily Mail, there are a few, with the competition for Rudiger’s services having driven his wage demands up as high as £400k-a-week, which would make him one of the best-paid defenders in the world.
Real Madrid, Paris Saint Germain, Bayern Munich and Juventus have all been mentioned as potential suitors, all four have the financial capabilities to pay Rudiger the aforementioned sum.
Chelsea do, too, but with the 28-year-old currently understood to earn ‘just’ £100k-a-week, will Marina Granovskaia really be open to the idea of quadrupling his wage packet? It seems unlikely…
