Chelsea legendary defender, John Terry is not happy that the club could not do everything possible to keep Antonio Rudiger at the club beyond this summer. The retired English footballer stressed that Chelsea should have complied with Rudiger’s demands.
After putting up a world-class performance in the 2020-2021 season which helped Chelsea to win the UEFA Champions League in 2021 for the second time in the history of the club, Antonio Rudiger’s value in the transfer market appreciated greatly.
Due to his performance, top European clubs like Real Madrid, Juventus, and even Manchester United got interested in his services. Unfortunately, it was during that period Chelsea were trying to extend his stay at the club.
Initially, Rudiger made it clear that he wanted to stay at Chelsea beyond June 30, 2022, the expiration date of his contract with Chelsea. However, the 29-year-old German defender was demanding that Chelsea should pay him between £230,000-a-week and £290,000-a-week before he could sign a contract extension.
But Chelsea were not ready to offer the German international such a lucrative deal even though he is seen as one of the most influential players at the club.
Amid the back and forth, Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich was banned from doing business in the United Kingdom due to the ongoing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The ban prevented Chelsea from signing players and renewing contracts.
Hence, Antonio Rudiger told coach Thomas Tuchel that he has decided to leave the club. Immediately the coach revealed that to reporters, a report surfaced that Real Madrid have reached an agreement with the German defender.
John Terry gives reasons why Chelsea shouldn’t have allowed Antonio Rudiger to leave the club:
Recently, John Terry who is serving as a consultant for Chelsea academy commented on a Sky Sports tweet which announced that coach Thomas has confirmed the exit of Rudiger from Chelsea. In his comment, John Terry who played for Chelsea professionally between 1998 to 2017 wrote: “How have we let this man go?”
John Terry did not stop there, the 41-year-old legendary English defender stressed that Chelsea should have given Rudiger £300,000 per week because the club could spend 80 to 100 million pounds to replace the German defender when he leaves.
Also, John Terry noted that the defender Chelsea might sign to replace Rudiger might want to earn nothing less than £300,000 per week which should have been given to the German defender.
Terry crowned his argument by adding that Rudiger’s potential replacement at Chelsea might struggle to settle at the club and might not even settle at all.
“Give him (Rudiger) 300k a week then, we will have to always 80-100 million to replace him and also give that player at least 300k a week and won’t know how long it will take him to settle or even if he will”, John Terry tweeted.
What is Rudiger’s stats at Chelsea
The journey of Antonio Rudiger at Chelsea started on July 9, 2017, after the Premier League club paid AS Roma €35 million for his services.
Since then, the 29-year-old German defender has played 196 times in all competitions in which he scored 12 goals and provided seven assists.
So far this season, Rudiger has played 47 games in all competitions in which he scored five goals and provided four assists. His current transfer market value is €35 million.
Aside from his abilities to score and provide assists, Rudiger’s commitment, passion, and leadership skills on and off the pitch are some of the qualities Chelsea will miss about the German defender when he leaves this summer.
Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid this summer is a "done deal" according to sources inside the club 😮pic.twitter.com/5z83uTZdsI
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 26, 2022
