Chelsea's Rudiger seals free transfer to Real Madrid on four-year deal

Posted Wednesday, May 11, 2022 by Goal.com

The Germany international is set to head to Spain after five seasons in the Premier League

Germany defender Antonio Rudiger has agreed to join Real Madrid when his Chelsea contract expires at the end of the season.

The 29-year-old has completed a medical and put pen-to-paper on a four-year deal worth a reported €6.8 million (£5.7m/$7.1m) per season, plus bonuses.

The defender and his agent Sahr Senesie - his half-brother - are also due to receive a huge signing bonus with some reports placing it at €35 million (£29m/$37m) between them both.

Why did Rudiger leave Chelsea for Real Madrid?

Rudiger's move to Los Blancos was widely anticipated after he gave his word during advanced negotiations with the club last month.

Real boss Carlo Ancelotti had instructed his club to restart talks after failed negotiations in December.

Chelsea wanted to keep the former Roma defender but he had grown frustrated waiting for the club's takeover to be completed.

The sanctions on the Stamford Bridge club mean they cannot renew contracts for any of their players and, despite Thomas Tuchel and other senior staff asking Rudiger to wait until the takeover is complete, he opted to explore one of the many offers on the table.

Manchester United, Barcelona and Juventus, with PSG and Bayern Munich had all held negotiations over a potential deal, but he opted for a move to Santiago Bernabeu.