Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus and PSG are reportedly involved in the race to sign Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger, with the Blaugrana in the driver’s seat.
According to a report by The Athletic, Antonio Rudiger wants to take a final call on his future by the end of the month. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain are keen on signing the Chelsea defender, with the Blaugrana leading the race to snap him up in a Bosman move.
Antonio Rudiger has been with Chelsea for nearly half a decade, but he has come into his own in the past year. Thomas Tuchel has transformed the German international, with the former Borussia Dortmund boss bringing the best out of a centre-back who had blown hot and cold in his first three and a half years at Stamford Bridge.
Rudiger has been a mainstay at the back for Chelsea this season, turning out 47 times across all competitions while chipping in with five goals and four assists. But Rudiger’s contract situation has put Chelsea in a spot of bother. And they cannot do anything about it till someone buys the club. Such a situation has captured the attention of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Barcelona will likely sign Andreas Christensen in a Bosman move in the summer transfer window. And the Catalan giants are keen on continuing their squad rebuild by signing another central defender to replace Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet. Rudiger has thus emerged as a viable target for Barcelona, with recent reports claiming they held talks with him recently.
But recent reports have claimed that Barcelona might not pursue Rudiger but sign someone else instead. However, as per The Athletic, they are leading the race to sign the Chelsea defender in a Bosman move ahead of arch-rivals Real Madrid.
Real Madrid could delve into the market for a centre-back in the summer transfer window, as Carlo Ancelotti does not have many quality central defensive options beyond David Alaba and Eder Militao. Nacho is a backup option, while Jesus Vallejo will leave Real Madrid in the summer. Rudiger is thus an option worth considering for Real Madrid.
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Apart from Barcelona and Real Madrid, Juventus and PSG are also keen on signing Rudiger. But the report by The Athletic claims that Real Madrid, Juventus, and PSG are trailing Barcelona in the race to sign the 29-year-old. It will be interesting to see if two Chelsea defenders join the Blaugrana in the summer or if Rudiger moves to some other club instead.