Antonio Rudiger was close to agreeing to a contract extension with Chelsea before their transfer ban scuppered the club’s plans.
That’s according to SportBILD journalist Christian Falk, who says ‘everything is in question’ regarding the player’s future at Stamford Bridge.
Rudiger is out of contract with Chelsea in the summer and, despite months of negotiations about extending his stay, there has been little progress on that happening.
He’s subsequently been linked with all the major clubs in Europe, who are believed to see Rudiger as a potential bargain signing this summer.
Their hopes have been boosted by Chelsea’s current transfer ban, which has been put in place as part of the sanctions on owner Roman Abramovich.
That ban means they cannot sign or sell players as a result, nor can they hand out new contracts to players whose deals are expiring.
It’s a tricky situation to say the least, and according to Falk, it has temporarily put a halt to their efforts of keeping Rudiger, which appeared to be succeeding.
“Rüdiger had turned down an offer at the beginning of the year, but now he was really, really far along,” he told SportBILD.
“His own salary arrangements are said to have been clarified. It’s only about the signing bonus; his brother is there negotiating for him, that might have been tricky at times, but that shows that he wanted to stay at all costs.
“Now, of course, everything is in question. Then you can’t negotiate any further; you can’t sign anything and get better.
“New talks started now? I’ve heard that Paris Saint-German and Real Madrid have already made an offer at the turn of the year. Juventus and Manchester United are also in the picture again, but it’s rather quiet at Bayern at the moment.”
True✅ @ToniRuediger and @ChelseaFC had an angreement about his personal conditions (but not for the signing fee). because of the sanctions against the Club there is again interest of @realmadrid @PSG_inside @ManUtd @juventusfc There is no contact with @FCBayern at the Moment pic.twitter.com/3RCNgvSdDg
— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) March 16, 2022
