Antonio Rudiger had his say about the ongoing contract negotiation with Chelsea as he insisted he remains committed to the club for the remainder of the season.
The 28-year-old is in the final few months of his contract with Chelsea and, so far, the two parties have yet to come to an agreement for a new deal.
Credit to Rudiger, he has performed consistently well despite the contract situation and the inevitable noise that comes with it.
He has been linked with several other clubs such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain, which the defender described as mere “speculation”.
“Like always, I’m fully committed to the cause,” the Germany international told Sky Sports.
“Talks are between my side and the club, and that’s everything you need to know.
“I owe it to everyone here around the club, the coach, my teammates and my family so that’s why I’m only focused on the important things.
“The other things are speculation – I cannot say anything about that.”
A Chelsea stay still a possibility
Interestingly, he has also hinted at his desire to stay at Chelsea, although it is also pretty clear that he is unlikely to budge on his contract demands.
“You need to listen to the missus,” the centre-back said when asked about the biggest influence in his career decision.
“You have to think about your family.
“My kids were born here in London so that tells you that my family feel great here.
“The rest is up to other people to make decisions, and then we will see if we come together or not.”
Unfortunately, Chelsea are also in a difficult position financially at the moment.
The club recently announced post-tax losses of £145.6million for the year up to 30 June 2021 (Sky Sports), largely caused by a lack of match-day income due to Covid-19.
While agreeing to Rudiger’s demands seems manageable, it could affect future contract talks with other players.
Bear in mind, according to Sky Sport, Chelsea would have to make the former Roma man the highest-paid defender in the Premier League if they were to keep him.
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