Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has not decided to join Real Madrid, despite reports to the contrary.
That’s according to SportBILD, who say that the reports a move to the Bernabeu is getting closer are wide of the mark.
They report that although the German international is ‘tempted’ by a move to Real Madrid, no decision about his future has been made as yet.
The centre-back is out of contract at Chelsea in the summer and is yet to sign an extension, meaning he is free to talk to clubs in Europe about a free transfer in the summer during the January transfer window.
He’s been linked with all the big clubs in Europe as a result, but it is Real Madrid who have seemingly taken the lead over the last week or so, with reports in England and Spain stating that they were edging closer to getting their man.
He is ‘dissatisfied’ with both his current contract of €6m a year and wants that increasing, and the fact Chelsea have only offered €8.5m a year so far while he would like to earn €10-12m a year.
For comparison, David Alaba joined Real Madrid on a free transfer from Bayern Munich last summer and now earns €19.5m a year, so Rudiger clearly believes he can pick up more than he is being offered and at the same time is being reasonable with his demands.
He has other suitors than Madrid, too, with Bayer Munich ‘interested’ in moving for him but only if they can’t get Niklas Sule, whose contract also expires in the summer, to sign an extension.
Should he leave then the Chelsea man would be the ‘first successor candidate’. In other words, he’s their first choice to replace him.
Thus the question remains whether Rudiger wants to remain at Chelsea, where he has established himself as a star under Thomas Tuchel, or whether a new adventure appeals to him.
If it’s the former, then the Blues need to up their offer significantly.
