Tuchel confirms Rudiger will leave Chelsea

It was an open secret, but now confirmed by Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel himself: Real Madrid target Antonio Rudiger, whose contract with Chelsea expires in June, will not be re-signing a deal with The Blues, and will leave the club in the summer.

LISTEN: Managing Madrid’s chief editors, Kiyan Sobhani and Lucas Navarrete, discuss how Rudiger fits at Real Madrid on the Managing Madrid Podcast exclusively for Patrons.

After Chelsea beat West Ham United 1 - 0 today — a game which they won thanks to a Christian Pulisic goal in the 90th minute — Tuchel spoke to Sky Sports about the Rudiger situation, among other things.

“The situation is that he wants to leave the club,” Tuchel said. “He informed me of this in a private talk.

“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.”