It is not the news, the fans would have wanted to hear after their victory over West Ham. The 1-0 win saw the Blues end their three-match losing streak at home.
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Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that his star defender Antonio Rudiger wants to leave the club in the summer when his contract expires. It was not clear for a while whether the German centre-back will stay at Stamford Bridge beyond this season due to his contract situation. In that period, he was reportedly linked with many teams, including Real Madrid and Manchester United. After long speculation, Tuchel has apprised the fans of this latest development. The Blues boss revealed the information following Chelsea’s hard-fought 1-0 victory over West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday.
“The situation is that he wants to leave the club. He informed me of this in a private talk,” Tuchel told Sky Sports. “We gave everything – me and the club – but we could not fight anymore because of the actions. Without the sanctions we would at least be able to carry on fighting, but our hands are tied. We don’t take it personally. It is his decision.
“He is a key figure and will stay that way until the end of the season. But it is disappointing. We will miss him a lot. He gives courage in the dressing room. The kind everyone is afraid of, but the kind to play 50-55 games at an outstanding level. He is a top defender in the last one-and-a-half years for me. We then need to find another solution.”
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It is not the news, the fans would have wanted to hear after a last-gasp victory over West Ham on Sunday. The 1-0 win saw Thomas Tuchel’s side end their three-match losing streak at home and more or less secure their top-four status. Rudiger, however, was not part of Sunday’s win.
Later in a press conference, Tuchel revealed that an injury was the reason behind Rudiger’s absence. “He’s injured. No concerns from him,” he added. “It’s a groin and in the other leg a bit hamstring. He is somebody who plays through pain anyway. It’s not even an injury and he feels insecure. He’ll come back to training on Tuesday ahead of Thursday.
“He has no doubts and he made no doubts that he will play until the end of the season. This is what he did from day one and this is what he’ll do for the last minute.”
When asked whether Chelsea will be able to replace Rudiger after his departure, Tuchel said: “In the moment not, because of the sanctions. Hopefully the sanctions will be the past. Even then it will be incredible difficult because Toni is what he is. He’s a big personality. Big leader. He takes fear away and gives confidence and between 50, 60 matches over 90 minutes with an incredible level of consistency.”
“We had a connection from day one and he deserves my full support. I’m just happy to have had the chance to coach him in the team and the club did as well. We had offers, big offers and the club tried everything but we cannot fight anymore. We have the sanctions, we can’t continue. It is what it is.
“It would be ideal [for sanctions to be lifted before transfer window] but even if we wish for it, you can’t pull grass for it to grow faster. We have to deal with what the reality is. The sanctions are still in place and the situation is not cleared for next season. We try to focus on the last weeks.”
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