Jorginho says Chelsea will ‘miss’ Antonio Rudiger as the central defender closes in on a transfer move to Real Madrid.
Rudiger, who has won the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup at Chelsea, has agreed a deal to join Madrid when his contract expires at the end of the campaign.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel confirmed over the weekend that the Premier League club had failed to agree a new contract with Rudiger, despite offering him more than £200,000-a-week.
Rudiger is now expected to sign a four-year contract at the Bernabeu, having chosen Real Madrid as his next club over Bayern.
Jorginho was asked about Rudiger’s exit on Tuesday and insisted ‘everyone at the club will miss him’, not only as a valuable member of the team but also as a likeable character.
‘He’s been here a long time so if he leaves we are going to miss him,’ Jorginho told Sky Sports. ‘He’s a big personality and he’s helped us a lot.
‘We’ve had amazing times here, he’s a good friend of mine so if he leaves, not just me but everyone at the club will miss him.’
Asked what he will miss about Rudiger, the Italian star added: ‘The craziness! He makes me laugh a lot and all his jokes and laughs. That’s the nice part.’
Rudiger’s Chelsea career seemed to hit a stumbling block during Frank Lampard’s tenure, but the German has enjoyed a revival under his compatriot Tuchel and was an important member of last season’s Champions League-winning squad.
He has continued to impress this season, helping Chelsea reach the FA Cup and EFL Cup finals, progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and briefly challenge for the Premier League
Former Premier League player Chris Sutton believes Rudiger will be a ‘big loss’ to Chelsea, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘Chelsea have got big problems, there’s so much uncertainty which is going to continue until there is a new owner in place.
‘They may lose other players, I cannot see Chelsea competing next season with the uncertainty which lies over them at this moment.
‘[Andreas] Christensen is off, [Cesar] Azpilicueta – it’s going to be interesting to see what happens to him. And then you look at the young talented players they have let go. [Kurt] Zouma to West Ham, [Marc] Guehi to Crystal palace and [Fikayo] Tomori. Talented players who may have been able to step up.
‘They are losing a top defender and that doesn’t bode well for them.’
