Real Madrid News
Real Madrid veteran defender agrees one-year contract extension – report
According to AS, Antonio Rudiger has accepted Real Madrid’s contract renewal proposal and will therefore remain at the club for one more season.
The veteran German’s current deal runs out at the end of the ongoing campaign and has now agreed on a short-term renewal for another year.
Rudiger wanted a two-year contract
As per the report, Rudiger had hoped to secure a two-year extension from Real Madrid, but he accepted that the club follows the same policy of one-year renewals for all players over the age of 30, meaning his future with the club is now secured.
The German defender has gone through a difficult season due to physical problems that had been affecting him for a long time and eventually forced him to undergo surgery.
A treatment process initiated after a trip to London, which included a medical consultation, helped solve the pain that had forced him to play under less-than-ideal conditions for several months.
Those issues now appear to be behind him, as shown by his performances in the final matches of the current season.
A loyal leader
Rudiger arrived at Real Madrid in the summer of 2022 and, although he initially struggled to establish himself as a regular starter, he gradually became an essential part of Carlo Ancelotti’s plans.
Hip and knee problems pushed him to play at his physical limit on many occasions, particularly during the latter stages of last season, where his commitment to the club effectively led him to play while carrying injuries.
A leader on and off the field, over the past few years, Rudiger has received several offers, including one particularly attractive financially from Saudi Arabia, but he chose to remain loyal to Real Madrid and believes he still has goals left to achieve wearing the white shirt.
At a time when Real Madrid are set to bid goodbye to Dani Carvajal, retaining a player of Rudiger’s experience and leadership will be a big boost.
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.
