Rudiger: “Real Madrid’s winning mentality fits my own personality”

Real Madrid’s newest signing Antonio Rudiger talked to MARCA in an interview where he discussed his move to the Spanish capital and what went on behind the scenes during the past few months.

“It’s true that many talks happened, but if I’m being honest I was considering only Real Madrid and Chelsea. I feel very proud and I still don’t realize what this means because I haven’t been in Madrid yet. I will go there with my family as soon as this training camp with Germany ends and then I think I will know what signing for Real Madrid means,” said the defender.

Rudiger confirmed that Ancelotti was interested in his signing and the defender thanked him for that.

“Yes, everyone in the world of football knows how big of a coach Ancelotti is, he’s a top coach and he proved it once again by winning La Liga and the Champions League. I don’t need to spend much time talking about him and I can only say that it’s a true honor to know that a coach like Ancelotti wants me. I’ve seen him on TV since I was a kid, it’s an honor. I talked with him and he welcomed me when everything was said and done. He told me that everyone in Madrid was happy about my signing and that makes me really proud and happy too. Ancelotti makes Real Madrid a strong club but other figures like Benzema, Kroos, Modric or Casemiro do too, and he told me that they were all happy about me being in Madrid. That motivates me to do an even better job in Madrid,” he explained.

Rudiger explained that he will start learning Spanish as soon as he arrives in Madrid.

“I haven’t started just yet but I will take classes as soon as I get there, that’s for sure. The good thing is that I already speak Italian so that should make things easier for me. It’s important to talk the country’s language out of respect for the country and the people working there. It’s my obligation to learn Spanish and I will do that very soon,” added the defender.

The German center-back said that while Madrid’s history puts pressure on the players, sometimes that pressure can help.

“Yes, this is Real Madrid’s history, they’re used to winning and that’s their mentality: win. But that winning mentality fits my own personality,” he explained.

Rudiger concluded his interview by sending a message to the fans.

“I will tell them that I will give my heart and soul in every game and every play, I can promise them that. I will give my 100% every single day,” he said.