Antonio Rudiger was surprised by the decision of Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali to sack Thomas Tuchel after just seven matches of the season – and has thanked the German coach for making the impossible possible during their 18 months together at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel's appointment as Chelsea head coach in January 2021 sparked a huge upturn in performance from Rudiger. Deployed on the left of a back three, the 29-year-old blossomed into one of the finest defenders in European football and was crucial to the Blues' unexpected Champions League triumph just four months after Tuchel's arrival.
However, that did create a problem for Chelsea as Rudiger's contract expired at the end of the 2021/22 campaign. Talks were held over extending his time in west London but they reached an impasse. And in February, Chelsea were forced to operate under the sanctions imposed by Roman Abramovich after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
