The German defender admits to having weighed up his options during the summer of 2020, but says no exit talks were ever held
Antonio Rudiger has revealed how close he came to leaving Chelsea during the summer of 2020, with the German defender sparking talk of interest from Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain.
Frank Lampard was at the Stamford Bridge helm during that transfer window, and a Blues legend had started to favour alternative options when filling centre-half berths.
Rudiger admits to having mulled over a push for the exits, but says discussions were never held with any suitors and he eventually worked his way back into favour before becoming a key man under Thomas Tuchel.
What has been said?
Asked by The Mirror on whether a move was ever on the cards, Rudiger said: “When you look back to the summer, there were points I wanted to leave.
“Because if you think about my age, what’s coming up this summer, the Euros and everything, I didn’t see myself in the squad for one month so my first thought was to leave.
“It was kind of close, there were serious talks but it didn’t happen.
“Then I stayed, I had a chat with Frank and then I was back in the squad. I got some game time and then towards the end of Lampard’s reign, I started to play a bit more.
“Then I said to myself: ‘OK, let’s see what happens’. Then my mindset was to work my way back, the change came and things went well and my relationship with Thomas Tuchel is normal and there’s a respect there which is how it should be.
“At the end of the day, the coach has his vision of football and how he wants us to perform and he backs it 1,000 per cent. You can see it on the sidelines. It’s like a tunnel vision, he has things in his mind and he wants us to perform like that.”
The bigger picture
A new contract is now being mooted for Rudiger as he approaches the final 12 months of his current deal.
He has taken in 33 appearances for Chelsea across all competitions this season, with 24 of those coming under Tuchel.
One more outing is now being lined up, with the commanding 28-year-old hoping to figure prominently in plans for a Champions League final clash with Manchester City on Saturday.
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