Chelsea defender has opened up on his time under Thomas Tuchel and Frank Lampard in an emotional letter to Chelsea Fans.
Antonio Rudiger is set to join the Spanish giant on a four-year deal after deciding to run down his contract at Chelsea.
Despite Chelsea’s efforts to tie the German defender to a new contract, the Sanctions against Chelsea’s former owner Roman Abromovich prevented the west London club from renewing his contract.
The 29-year-old German defender initially struggled to adapt to English football after a move from Roma in the Serie A. this got worse under Chelsea’s former manager Frank Lampard as the Chelsea legend prefers Andreas Christensen and Thiago Silva’s partnership.
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However, things changed when Thomas Tuchel took over at Chelsea. Since Thomas Tuchel’s arrival, Antonio Rudiger has grown to be one of the best defenders in the Premier League and Europe.
He was sensational for Chelsea in their Champions League triumph over Manchester City.
What did Rudiger say?
Antonio Rudiger told the Player’ Tribune:“ Not even six months before that [Champions League] final, I was on the floor, brother.
“At the time, I’d been dropped from the squad, and I couldn’t even get a reason why. We had a meeting one day, and the manager told me that we had a deep squad and that he preferred others over me. Boom — that was it.
“After that, there were a lot of rumors. I was getting a lot of abuse on social media. It was the hardest time in my career, and I stayed silent because I did not want to cause issues for the club.
“Imagine — if you would have told me that within a few months, I would be starting in a Champions League Final against City?
“When Tuchel came in as manager and gave me a chance, it was a new life for me. He did something right away that I think a lot of managers could learn from. It had nothing to do with tactics. He just came up to me and he said, “Toni, tell me about yourself.
“He wanted to know where my aggression and hunger came from, and I told him about growing up in Berlin-Neukölln and how I used to play so hard on the concrete pitches that all the older kids started calling me “Rambo.”
“He asked about me, as a person. That was big. When Tuchel gave me a chance, I had so much motivation that I was never going back to the bench. I had made up my mind that I was going to give 200% to this club, to this badge — despite everything that was said about me. For me, after everything I endured, the Champions League was just the pineapple on top of the cake.’’
He added: “The match itself [the Champions League final vs Manchester City] was beautiful because we won against an incredible City team by defending as a unit and hitting them on the counter,’ Rudiger added.
“We fought for our lives, and in the end, we were champions. At the final whistle, I was running around like mad, and Tuchel just happened to be coming my way, and I gave him a big hug. That was a special moment for me, and I will always be thankful to him because he gave me a chance when I was left for dead.”
