Real Madrid national soccer player Antonio Rüdiger has warned against his former club ahead of the Champions League quarter-final duel against Chelsea.
Despite the rather weak season so far, the Londoners have “a very strong squad,” said the 30-year-old central defender in an interview with the newspaper “El Mundo”. The first leg takes place on Wednesday (21.00 CET) at the defending champions at the Santiago Bernabéu, with the second leg taking place in London six days later.
Rüdiger played for England last season. When asked if Chelsea were “a completely different team” today, the former VfB Stuttgart pro replied: “Yes, but for me they’ve gotten even better.” Maybe there wasn’t enough time “to find each other as a team. But they have a very strong squad and that makes them unpredictable. They have a lot of talent,” he emphasized.
Rüdiger already won the premier class in 2021 with Chelsea. With Real, however, he wants to win this title “at least, at least, at least three times,” “if that should be possible,” as he said with a laugh. “To win here would be amazing because I would go down in the history books at the club and no one can take you out of there.”
Meanwhile, Rüdiger is already thinking about the time after his professional career. “After football, I want to be a businessman. I don’t know what will happen in ten years, but I don’t think I want to be involved in football then.” (dpa)