It’s official. Antonio Rüdiger, a 29-year-old German central defender, is already a Real Madrid player. The white entity announced it around 1:30 p.m. this Thursday on his website. The player, whose contract ended this June with Chelsea, arrives at the Bernabéu at zero cost. He will sign for four seasons, until 2026, so he will end his contract at 33 years old. Rüdiger will receive an amount close to 10 million euros, bonuses included (in reality, there are seven fixed), the same salary step as Alaba, who also arrived at no additional transfer cost for Real Madrid.
The player was exultant in his social networks. “I am proud to announce that I will join Real Madrid. I am very excited for all the challenges ahead and I can’t wait to play my first games for this great club. #HalaMadrid #AlwasyBelieve #Hustle…”. For its part, Real Madrid praised him in the official statement. “Our team is reinforced by one of the best defenders in the world, a starter for the German national team who comes from Chelsea. At the English club he has been a key player in winning 1 Champions League, 1 Europa League, 1 Club World Cup, 1 European Super Cup and 1 England Cup. In addition, he has been included in the ideal team of the Champions in the last two seasons”.
With the signing of Rüdiger, Real Madrid continues the process of renewing the squad that began a few years ago. The first consequence of hiring him is the change of role of Alaba, who will begin to play more in the left-back position, in which he stood out so much at Bayern. Like Alaba, Rüdiger is a versatile player who can also play in the right-back position.
Real Madrid has also announced that the official presentation will be on June 20 at 12:00. The hiring of the German was already a fact since last May 10, the day he passed the medical examination with which the agreement between Real Madrid and the player was made effective. Rüdiger will have a termination clause of 450 million euros.
The medical examination was a formality. If Rüdiger is characterized by something, it is by his physical strength. He has a fairly brief injury history: He has barely missed games due to physical problems once this 2021-22 season, and none in the 2020-21 season. Real Madrid also witnessed his athletic exuberance in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals at the Bernabéu, a duel in which Chelsea came close to coming back from 1-3 in the first leg at Stamford Bridge . The German scored one of his team’s goals, but Madrid came back to 2-3.
With Rüdiger, Real Madrid lays the first stone for Madrid for the following season. In addition to him, he will sign Tchouameni, for whom he is already negotiating with Monaco. These two additions will be joined by the return of several on loan who have a place in the first team, especially in the cases of Borja Mayoral and Odriozola.