Antonio Rudiger claims Chelsea went months without speaking to him about a new contract and has confirmed he will leave the club at the end of the season on a free transfer.
The German international is set to join Real Madrid in the summer having been unable to come to terms on a deal to prolong his stay at Stamford Bridge. It's understood that during negotiations, Chelsea made an offer to Rudiger in excess of £200,00-per-week, a salary which would have made him the best-paid defender in the club's history.
Yet the sanctions the Blues have been operating under since March complicated matters, although the 29-year-old admitted after the FA Cup final defeat to Liverpool on Sunday that they were not the reason as to why no agreement was come to. And in a farewell interview released by The Players' Tribune, Rudiger has further explained the reasons behind his departure.
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"Unfortunately, my contract negotiations had already started to get difficult last fall," the centre-back explained. "Business is business, but when you don’t hear any news from the club from August to January, the situation becomes complicated. After the first offer, there was a long gap of just nothing.
"We’re not robots, you know? You cannot wait for months with so much uncertainty about your future. Obviously, no one saw the sanctions coming, but in the end, other big clubs were showing interest, and I had to make a decision. I will leave it at that, because business aside, I have nothing bad to say about this club."
Rudiger will depart after five years at Stamford Bridge; they have not all been easy. There have been periods in which the defender has been on the fringes, but under Thomas Tuchel he has thrived. And the German says he will leave Chelsea will a heavy heart having earned the affection of supporters.
"There is hatred in the football world, for sure," he said. "That’s a fact. I have experienced the worst of it. But there is also a lot of joy, too. At Chelsea, I experienced both extremes. Yes, I heard the abuse. But I also felt the love. At the end of the day, the light was stronger than the darkness.
"For that, I will always be Chelsea. Thank you, Rudi"
