Chelsea Star Rudiger Joining Barcelona?

In addition, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel also reiterated the news about the German international's departure on Sunday. His contract expires this summer, and he has chosen not to renew it. Shortly after, Barca, director of football Mateu Alemany shared that he had interacted with Rudiger's agent, Saif Rubie, but claimed that their discussion did not involve the German footballer. In an exchange with Spanish outlet Movistar+, Alemany shared, "We had a meeting with his agent, but we didn't talk about that situation."

However, as reported on Monday morning, the Chelsea centre-back is most likely to join Real Madrid on a four-year contract. Alemany further continued, "Agents represent more than one player, and that could lead to confusion. Also, it's not our custom to talk about contracted players so we can't help. Now is not the time to think about [next season]. We work in all positions and, at the end of the whole season, we will talk to the coach and make decisions based on the market."

Tuchel Visibly Disheartened About Rudiger's Departure

After Chelsea's Sunday showdown against West Ham, enhanced by a late Christian Pulisic winner, Tuchel confirmed that Rudiger would be leaving this summer. He is determined to guide his team through finding new solutions but admitted that it would be difficult to find another player with the same calibre even without sanctions. He shared, "Even then, it will be incredibly difficult because Toni is a big personality, a big leader and he takes the fear away from other people."

The Chelsea boss continued, 'We will miss him a lot. It will be challenging, but, no matter how much I love Toni and how big a role he has played, there will be life at Chelsea without Toni Rudiger. We will find solutions.' Rudiger couldn't play Sunday's match due to an injury, but Pulisic's 90th-minute winner closed the game after Jorginho's late penalty miss.

Barcelona in Rudiger's Active Pursuit

Antonio Rudiger has become Barcelona's top target after Tuchel disclosed that the centre-back is leaving Stanford Bridge this summer. Rudiger's representative and brother Sahr Senesie sat with Barca representatives in Catalonia on Wednesday. The Spanish club turned towards rivals Real Madrid, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain for his signature. Sources in close ties with Rudiger claim that his fate is undecided.

 If he joins Barcelona, Rudiger could become one of three Blues defenders signing to the club ahead of the 2022/23 campaign. The La Liga legends have virtually completed the process required to sign Rudiger's central defensive partner Andreas Christensen, who is also out of contract this summer. Barcelona is looking at a bright season, whereas Tuchel might have to rethink and find new ways to reinvent his club.