Antonio Rudiger

[NikkiCFC 7,950]

Real last 13 games have 12 wins and 1 draw. With just 7 goals conceded. Their defense is looking really good. Alaba-Militao looks good pairing. We know Rudiger in 4atb is different thing. Not certain he will be success there.

I mean, look at Eden 🙊

[Tomo 21,733]

1 hour ago, NikkiCFC said:

Real last 13 games have 12 wins and 1 draw. With just 7 goals conceded. Their defense is looking really good. Alaba-Militao looks good pairing. We know Rudiger in 4atb is different thing. Not certain he will be success there.

I mean, look at Eden 🙊

Just a theory but maybe Alaba is doing a Gallas and saying he's only accepting playing out of position in the short term?

Isn't being shoved to CB what caused his breakdown in relations with Bayern in the first place?

Edited December 14, 2021 by Tomo

[Magic Lamps 11,653]

1 hour ago, NikkiCFC said:

Real last 13 games have 12 wins and 1 draw. With just 7 goals conceded. Their defense is looking really good. Alaba-Militao looks good pairing. We know Rudiger in 4atb is different thing. Not certain he will be success there.

I mean, look at Eden 🙊

Tbh Rüdiger has never looked convincing in a regular back 4 apart from patches in the Sarri season and few games at Roma. For Germany and under FL he was a disaster . He is a proactive defender who likes to step outside the back 4 to win the ball early and that is just suicidal in a back 4. Not even speaking about his driving runs into the opposition box. 
With 3atb when he vacates his position and gets run past by an attacker, there are 2 others tidying up and no one notices the mistake. In a before the attacker runs into acres of space in behind and you look like an absolute tool. This will be Toni every time. If we plan to go to back to before I don’t mind him leaving at all. 
transfer update on sky Germany stopped short of reporting everything being agreed with real but talks have taken place and you can bet they offered him some crazy wages already. Club should not be held to ransom 

[Vesper 28,802]

Chelsea must renew Antonio Rudiger’s contract

https://theathletic.com/3011011/2021/12/13/Chelsea-must-renew-antonio-rudigers-contract/

Sometimes you just have to ask: what are Chelsea doing?

Knowing when the right time has come for a player to leave a football club isn’t an exact science. There are many factors involved but, surely, Chelsea can’t afford to let Antonio Rudiger leave the building.

In less than three weeks, Rudiger can officially start talking to foreign clubs and agree a pre-contract that will allow the centre-back to join one of them as a free agent next summer. As The Athletic explained ahead of the weekend, Real Madrid are growing in confidence they can bring the Germany international to the Bernabeu.

You could already be questioning Chelsea for allowing themselves to be put in such a vulnerable situation where four key defenders — Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Andreas Christensen and Rudiger — have just six months left on their deals.

There is a very strong argument for the entire quartet to be retained, but during the best part of 100 minutes in a crazy 3-2 win over Leeds, Rudiger demonstrated once again how crucial he is.

All his characteristics were on show, from winning tackles to going on charging runs upfield. He only touched the ball on 45 occasions, but it just felt like the German was everywhere.

Without Rudiger being Rudiger, Chelsea would not have come out on top. There was the unusual sight of him winning not one, but two penalties. It is only the second time since the Premier League began that a Chelsea player has earned two spot kicks in one fixture — the other being Yuri Zhirkov 11 years ago.

Both penalties were converted by Jorginho and were the difference between Chelsea securing a crucial victory and dropping points at home for the third consecutive game.

Each incident took place in open play, which made it all the more remarkable. This was one of Chelsea’s three centre-backs getting in positions one of the forwards are expected to be. The 28-year-old’s presence in the area induced panic in the Leeds ranks. How else can you explain the clumsy nature of the challenges?

There is arguably no one in the Chelsea dressing room with a greater hunger to win. No one with a better understanding of knowing when the crowd, as well as his own team-mates, need the lift of seeing him make a strong interception or marauding charge up the field. He is a great irritant to have on your side. A source of great angst if he is not.

“He is always important,” coach Thomas Tuchel said afterwards. “He did not accept to lose today and we can agree on this one, that it was necessary (to win).”

Rudiger is one of Chelsea’s main leaders. He has high expectations and is not afraid to put a colleague in his place if he feels they’re not doing something correctly. Just ask keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

But no one will stand up for a Chelsea team-mate more. After Kai Havertz clashed with Junior Firpo just before and following the final whistle, it was the 28-year-old who raced over to defend him and seemed willing to take on most of the Leeds players single-handed. The only one who was able to get the better of him during the confrontation was Romelu Lukaku, who showed the kind of impressive strength to drag the centre-half away that Tuchel wants to see the Chelsea striker use against opponents during matches.

It was the type of incident where pundits will question why Rudiger is getting involved and risking getting in trouble with the referee. It’s also the type of incident that inspires togetherness and team bonding in the dressing room.

“If you have Toni, you have Toni,” Tuchel replied when asked about the altercation. “You cannot have Toni being the emotional leader and aggressive leader on the pitch and then suddenly not be involved if there are some team-mates to protect or involved in an argument.”

Finding a player like Rudiger is not easy. It’s not all gone smoothly since he joined from Roma for £29 million in 2017 on a five-year contract worth £90,000 a week and there have been spells where his form hasn’t been good.

But this is a man who is now playing at his peak. If Chelsea entered the market to buy a player of his equivalent, it would probably cost more than £50 million in transfer fees and around the same in wages on top of that.

So why the reluctance to offer something closer to his demands? Sources suggest there have been no talks since Chelsea proposed a five-year deal worth around £140,000 a week in August. As far as the club is concerned, that is a healthy pay rise and should be enough to satisfy Rudiger. It is an increase of over 50 per cent, so you can see their reasoning.

However, Rudiger knows his value on the market and that he can get considerably more elsewhere, especially when you factor in the signing-on fee. Players also talk and he will be aware that German compatriots Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, who haven’t been showing the same level of consistency, are making three times what he is at the moment.

He has every right to feel aggrieved given the quality of his performances in 2021. But continued suggestions he is demanding, or going to get £400,000 a week elsewhere, are believed to be wide of the mark. The figure Rudiger is looking for is more like £180,000 to £200,000 a week.

One should note that he could also find the prospect of playing for Real Madrid or another of the interested clubs, Bayern Munich, hard to turn down. Still, shouldn’t Chelsea put up more of a fight to ensure that doesn’t happen?

You can understand Chelsea debating things like what happens if his form deteriorates and the lack of sell-on value should he stay well into his thirties. But they should also be querying whether they’ll be better off letting him leave on a free in the summer and spending a fortune on an unproven replacement.

Willian’s displays following his departure to Arsenal — albeit he was 32 when he quit Stamford Bridge for better terms in north London — might see them lean towards the second option. But surely that would be a mistake; Rudiger is only 28 and, as Tom Worville explained in this recent article, is playing in a position where the peak age is between 27 and 31.

Chelsea had a glimpse into a future without Rudiger when they laboured to a 3-3 draw at Zenit St Petersburg last week. Tuchel’s side also conceded three with Rudiger in the side against West Ham the previous weekend and, of course, another two versus Leeds, but this was different. The Russian club created chance after chance and the Champions League holders looked rudderless.

If Chelsea had any sense, negotiations will be reopened. The sooner the better.

[King Kante 1,476]

12 hours ago, Vesper said:

Chelsea must renew Antonio Rudiger’s contract

https://theathletic.com/3011011/2021/12/13/Chelsea-must-renew-antonio-rudigers-contract/

Sometimes you just have to ask: what are Chelsea doing?

Knowing when the right time has come for a player to leave a football club isn’t an exact science. There are many factors involved but, surely, Chelsea can’t afford to let Antonio Rudiger leave the building.

In less than three weeks, Rudiger can officially start talking to foreign clubs and agree a pre-contract that will allow the centre-back to join one of them as a free agent next summer. As The Athletic explained ahead of the weekend, Real Madrid are growing in confidence they can bring the Germany international to the Bernabeu.

You could already be questioning Chelsea for allowing themselves to be put in such a vulnerable situation where four key defenders — Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Andreas Christensen and Rudiger — have just six months left on their deals.

There is a very strong argument for the entire quartet to be retained, but during the best part of 100 minutes in a crazy 3-2 win over Leeds, Rudiger demonstrated once again how crucial he is.

All his characteristics were on show, from winning tackles to going on charging runs upfield. He only touched the ball on 45 occasions, but it just felt like the German was everywhere.

Without Rudiger being Rudiger, Chelsea would not have come out on top. There was the unusual sight of him winning not one, but two penalties. It is only the second time since the Premier League began that a Chelsea player has earned two spot kicks in one fixture — the other being Yuri Zhirkov 11 years ago.

Both penalties were converted by Jorginho and were the difference between Chelsea securing a crucial victory and dropping points at home for the third consecutive game.

Each incident took place in open play, which made it all the more remarkable. This was one of Chelsea’s three centre-backs getting in positions one of the forwards are expected to be. The 28-year-old’s presence in the area induced panic in the Leeds ranks. How else can you explain the clumsy nature of the challenges?

There is arguably no one in the Chelsea dressing room with a greater hunger to win. No one with a better understanding of knowing when the crowd, as well as his own team-mates, need the lift of seeing him make a strong interception or marauding charge up the field. He is a great irritant to have on your side. A source of great angst if he is not.

“He is always important,” coach Thomas Tuchel said afterwards. “He did not accept to lose today and we can agree on this one, that it was necessary (to win).”

Rudiger is one of Chelsea’s main leaders. He has high expectations and is not afraid to put a colleague in his place if he feels they’re not doing something correctly. Just ask keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

But no one will stand up for a Chelsea team-mate more. After Kai Havertz clashed with Junior Firpo just before and following the final whistle, it was the 28-year-old who raced over to defend him and seemed willing to take on most of the Leeds players single-handed. The only one who was able to get the better of him during the confrontation was Romelu Lukaku, who showed the kind of impressive strength to drag the centre-half away that Tuchel wants to see the Chelsea striker use against opponents during matches.

It was the type of incident where pundits will question why Rudiger is getting involved and risking getting in trouble with the referee. It’s also the type of incident that inspires togetherness and team bonding in the dressing room.

“If you have Toni, you have Toni,” Tuchel replied when asked about the altercation. “You cannot have Toni being the emotional leader and aggressive leader on the pitch and then suddenly not be involved if there are some team-mates to protect or involved in an argument.”

Finding a player like Rudiger is not easy. It’s not all gone smoothly since he joined from Roma for £29 million in 2017 on a five-year contract worth £90,000 a week and there have been spells where his form hasn’t been good.

But this is a man who is now playing at his peak. If Chelsea entered the market to buy a player of his equivalent, it would probably cost more than £50 million in transfer fees and around the same in wages on top of that.

So why the reluctance to offer something closer to his demands? Sources suggest there have been no talks since Chelsea proposed a five-year deal worth around £140,000 a week in August. As far as the club is concerned, that is a healthy pay rise and should be enough to satisfy Rudiger. It is an increase of over 50 per cent, so you can see their reasoning.

However, Rudiger knows his value on the market and that he can get considerably more elsewhere, especially when you factor in the signing-on fee. Players also talk and he will be aware that German compatriots Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, who haven’t been showing the same level of consistency, are making three times what he is at the moment.

He has every right to feel aggrieved given the quality of his performances in 2021. But continued suggestions he is demanding, or going to get £400,000 a week elsewhere, are believed to be wide of the mark. The figure Rudiger is looking for is more like £180,000 to £200,000 a week.

One should note that he could also find the prospect of playing for Real Madrid or another of the interested clubs, Bayern Munich, hard to turn down. Still, shouldn’t Chelsea put up more of a fight to ensure that doesn’t happen?

You can understand Chelsea debating things like what happens if his form deteriorates and the lack of sell-on value should he stay well into his thirties. But they should also be querying whether they’ll be better off letting him leave on a free in the summer and spending a fortune on an unproven replacement.

Willian’s displays following his departure to Arsenal — albeit he was 32 when he quit Stamford Bridge for better terms in north London — might see them lean towards the second option. But surely that would be a mistake; Rudiger is only 28 and, as Tom Worville explained in this recent article, is playing in a position where the peak age is between 27 and 31.

Chelsea had a glimpse into a future without Rudiger when they laboured to a 3-3 draw at Zenit St Petersburg last week. Tuchel’s side also conceded three with Rudiger in the side against West Ham the previous weekend and, of course, another two versus Leeds, but this was different. The Russian club created chance after chance and the Champions League holders looked rudderless.

If Chelsea had any sense, negotiations will be reopened. The sooner the better.

If the ask is £180k a week, that is something we have to consider as that is £46.8m over 5 years, which isn't that crazy when you consider how much it is to go out and buy a like for like replacement. Additionally, owing to his position it isn't out if the question you can still pick up a reasonable fee for him in 2-3 years time (although the wages may make it difficult if he has a drop in form and/or we return to a back 4 as he isn't great there.) 

However, some things do need to be considered. Firstly, yes he did win two pens and has been playing well, but let's not forget he was at fault for the Burnley goal by not stepping up with the line and he should've done a lot better prior to West Ham's second. 

Another problem I have with this article is how they ask how we find ourselves in this situation. The answer is pretty clear. Firstly, Dave and Silva are at an age where they only get 1 year extensions moving forward. Whenever we have had the situation in the past the extension has been announced until March onwards so this really isn't concerning/surprising. 

As for AC and Rudi, it needs to be remembered how we defended like the Keystone Cops under SFL. A lot of people wanted them both replaced and Rudi was actively being pushed to go to West Ham at the start of last season. Seriously, neither were getting sizable extensions at that point and really only since the turn of this year have most people wanted them too. 

Lastly, as we do now find ourselves in this situation, it isn't surprising AC is being prioritised over Rudi owing to his lower ask, his age and academy status. 

All in all, this isn't great, but it shouldn't be surprising to anyone who has a memory that extends beyond February this year. 

[MoroccanBlue 5,299]

2 hours ago, King Kante said:

If the ask is £180k a week, that is something we have to consider

It isn't.

Matt Law is suggesting its closer to £300kpw. Rudiger and his team know Real will offer him that amount so he's basically asking the club to match it. 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,477]

 

[OneMoSalah 8,778]

On 15/12/2021 at 14:36, MoroccanBlue said:

It isn't.

Matt Law is suggesting its closer to £300kpw. Rudiger and his team know Real will offer him that amount so he's basically asking the club to match it. 

But there’s also been a lot of conflicting reports/rumours recently that he was offered less than what Mount’s going to get offered to renew which is 140k p/w.

The 300k p/w talk tends to be if he were to sign for other clubs on a free transfer than what he actually wants to renew here.  

I suppose it depends which source you believe. I doubt he is stupid enough to think we will pay him 300k p/w which would make him the highest paid player at the club.

Edited December 19, 2021 by OneMoSalah

[DH1988 1,273]

It is a strange situation, I genuinely feel that Rudi doesn't reach the level at another club that he does for us and Tuchel, those who remember his Roma days, I mean.. Just wow. Definitely the type that needs to be 100 or its essentially 0, in terms of performance and concentration levels.

Love his aggression and his general play, there was a tiktok going around earlier of him undoing Liverpool keepers gloves on a corner, the pure shithousery is iconic.

Who really knows what he has been offered by the club, of course on a free other clubs can inflate the salary per week/sign on fees etc. but I don't think the club would have an issue with doubling his wages, perhaps the length of the deal.

[Fulham Broadway 16,846]

Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Juventus have all opened talks with Antonio Rudiger's representatives over a pre-contract agreement in the last few days. Ragnick is also a mate of Rudis brother -who happens to be his agent. 

Seems to be the norm for 'big' players to run down their contracts to the wire now. Could be risky though, a serious injury could ruin their finances

 

[Vegetable 830]

Wasn't it reported that Real claimed it's fake and they are not interested? 

If he leaves on free, he's useful, but chances that he'll shine like he does under Tuchel are slim and top clubs know it. He has the time of his life now, but let's not forget he was never considered top defender and hardly anyone was trying to take him over from us, for a reason.

[Tomo 21,733]

1 hour ago, Fulham Broadway said:

Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Juventus have all opened talks with Antonio Rudiger's representatives over a pre-contract agreement in the last few days. Ragnick is also a mate of Rudis brother -who happens to be his agent. 

Seems to be the norm for 'big' players to run down their contracts to the wire now. Could be risky though, a serious injury could ruin their finances

 

Wenger called it a few years back.

It's a reaction to the inflated fees, it's impossible for top players to get out of even middling clubs if they have a long contract (Kane and Zaha).

[robsblubot 3,504]

This is a tricky one.

On one hand he's been playing at the top of his game, and he's still 28, so he's got another few years of quality play ahead of him barring injuries.

On the other hand, he already did play for us at the top of his game, and won everything, so it's perhaps time to let him go to become hungry again. This is the most difficult decision a football club need to make, and they usually get this wrong by extending contracts based on prior performance.

Hope the folks with all the data can get this right this time around.

[bigbluewillie 1,859]

On 23/11/2021 at 22:05, NikkiCFC said:

Best CB in universe in 2021.

Nah thats the guy playing centrally next to him🤗

[ZAPHOD2319 4,477]

12 hours ago, bigbluewillie said:

Nah thats the guy playing centrally next to him🤗

I would love to see him make it to 40!

[NikkiCFC 7,950]

14 hours ago, bigbluewillie said:

Nah thats the guy playing centrally next to him🤗

Silva is great but he didn't play a lot of games and Chris replaced him equally good like in CL final for example. No one can replace Rudiger in our squad. This is why I think he is most important defender for us. 

[milka 3,346]

 

[Special Juan 27,428]

Massive if he stays, he's colossal.