Chelsea fans hoped but were aware that the situation at their club will make it hard for the stars of the team to stay. Their fear regarding Antonio Rudiger was realized yesterday when manager Thomas Tuchel confirmed his compatriot will not stay at Stamford Bridge after the ongoing season ends.The ones being most persistent in courting the Sierra Leone rooted sweeper were the executives of Real Madrid and reportedly Los Blancos have reached a preliminary agreement with Rudiger to move to the Bernabeu on a free transfer in July.Sources have told ESPN that the club and the German footballer’s representatives are still working on aspects of the deal and that the 29-year-old is now on track to sign for Madrid on a four-year contract.Tue 22:00: (1.53) Man.City (4.30) Real Madrid (7.00)Earlier in the season, the Royal club seemed to have distanced themselves from a deal because they did not want to get involved in an expensive bidding war for Rudiger with other top clubs. But ESPN reported last week that La Liga table-toppers were looking at the possibility of signing Rudiger.Interest in the player burst after club executives were impressed by his performances in their Champions League quarterfinal tie where Real Madrid and Chelsea met. Rudiger scored Chelsea’s second goal at the Bernabeu on April 12 in a dramatic 3-2 win that saw the Premier League club eliminated 5-4 on aggregate after extra time.The German cenre-back was also exquisite in last year’s encounters which ended in the Blues qualifying for the finals and eventually winning the competition.Sources report that the deal could now be sealed in record time as Real Madrid’s executives began working on an agreement for the defender early – after this year’s campaign’s second leg against Chelsea. Negotiations have moved fast because Rudiger has considerably reduced his wage demands which show he is keen to move to the Spanish capital.Tuchel confirms Rudiger is leaving ChelseaAfter Carlo Ancelotti’s team had problems forming a reliable back four in key games at this stage of the season – Los Blancos decided to get back in the race for a reliable and energetic defender and Rudiger’s arrival would see the team strengthen at centre-back with a top-level player.A massive part of the equation is the fact that he is arriving without a transfer fee, just as they did with the signing of David Alaba from Bayern Munich almost a year ago.With potentially pairing Rudiger with Eder Militao at centre-back, it would allow Ancelotti to deploy Alaba at left-back if he wishes.As per numerous sources, Rudiger rejected Chelsea’s latest contract renewal offer, worth over 255,000 USD a week – probably because he was not certain how the sanction situation at Stamford Bridge will develop.
