Real Madrid News
German sources: Rudiger will go to Real Madrid
Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger is set to depart Stamford Bridge at the end of the season and German news outlet, BILD, has claimed that his next destination is set to be the white half of Madrid.
The 29-year-old defender has a valid contract with the Blues until the end of the season and while the team did try to tie him on a longer tenure, the attraction of playing for one of Europe’s biggest teams has forced him to reject any approach Chelsea made in the past.
Rudiger was offered a lucrative deal worth almost €240,000-per week and if accepted, it would have made him the highest-paid defender in the club’s history. However, the signing-on, as well as agent’s fees, proved to be the issue.
While it was already known that Rudiger would leave Chelsea, the scepticism was around the club he would pick since he had offers from Juventus as well as Paris Saint-Germain.
Barcelona were thought to be in the race too, but with Andreas Christensen already on the books and Ronald Araujo close to agreeing a new deal, they decided to back out.
Furthermore, he also had an offer from Manchester United waiting only to be accepted, but he preferred to move out of the Premier League altogether out of respect for the Blues, with whom he spent five seasons.
If it was for the wages, he would have easily put pen to paper since the Red Devils were ready to offer a contract worth €10 million per year.
During his time with Chelsea, the UEFA Champions League winner made 196 appearances across all competitions, making him a firm crowd favourite.
Rudiger’s arrival at Santiago Bernabeu represents a massive coup for Real Madrid ahead of the new 2022-23 football season. Even from an economical standpoint, he is nothing but a great addition that could well and truly ease up the pressure.
Real Madrid’s adventure so far under new coach Jose Mourinho has been far from perfect and this fact shouldn’t be lost even after the team’s brilliant comeback win over AS Roma in midweek.
However, there are areas where Los Blancos have shown a clear improvement under Mourinho, when compared to previous bosses such as Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa.
One of those areas has been set plays, with Real Madrid appearing far more potent from set pieces this season.
A clear improvement from last season
As reported by Diario AS, the three goals in Rome, all from Arda Guler corners inside a seven-minute blitz, were the perfect advert for the work being done at Valdebebas.
Those strikes took Real Madrid’s set-piece tally to seven goals in just ten matches this season. Four of them have come in La Liga, one from a corner and three from free kicks, with the trio in Rome completing the haul.
It is a striking figure when set against last season’s return. Under Alonso and Arbeloa, Madrid managed 12 set-piece goals across the entire campaign, all in La Liga, split evenly between six from corners and six from free kicks.
On current trends, this side looks well placed to surpass that number comfortably.
The reason behind Real Madrid’s improvement
Attacking set pieces are led at Valdebebas by Pedro Machado, with the whole coaching staff involved and Mourinho himself giving the final green light on every routine.
Defending them, meanwhile, falls to Sami Khedira, though it is treated as a collective effort. Mourinho’s appreciation of that teamwork was clear when Bellingham headed in a Guler free kick against Espanyol, prompting the manager to leap up and embrace his assistants.
Machado, one of Mourinho’s most trusted lieutenants, has followed him from Fenerbahce to Benfica and now Madrid, part of a backroom team blending experience with young, ambitious talent.
On the pitch, Guler is the undisputed master when available, his left foot the key weapon, with Bernardo Silva, Trent Alexander-Arnold and even Diomande also trusted to initiate attacks.
Such meticulous strategy has helped Real Madrid turn into a potent side from set-pieces this season.
