Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger has made a subtle dig at Chelsea ahead of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first-leg encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
Rudiger decided to leave Chelsea after five years to join Real Madrid on a free transfer last year.
At the time, the Germany international indicated that he was ready to take on a fresh challenge at the age of 29, having previously played in his homeland and Italy.
However, neither club have benefited from the deal, with Real already on the verge of losing the La Liga title barring an unexpected collapse from Barcelona.
Rudiger’s absence at Chelsea has been significantly more noticeable, despite the fact that the West Londoners are only 11th in the Premier League table.
Rudiger has admitted that his former club has an unfamiliar look ahead of the clubs’ Champions League quarter-final, which begins with the first leg in Spain on Wednesday.
“It has changed a lot, and I don’t really know what to expect,” Rudiger told Marca. It doesn’t look much like the team I played for.
“I expect quality, because they are very good players, but I don’t know what else we can find. It won’t be an easy game, but we are Real Madrid.”
Rudiger has played for Chelsea in the past two seasons, and has faced Real Madrid at various levels of the league.
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In 2020-21, Chelsea defeated Real Madrid in the semi-finals before defeating Manchester City in the final.
During the last season, however, Real advanced from their quarter-final tie by a 5-4 aggregate score, with Rudiger’s goal in the second leg in Spain proving in vain.
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