Antonio Rudiger has reportedly rejected Chelsea’s latest contract offer worth £140,000-per-week and feels it falls short of his expectations.
The German star has been a vital part of Thomas Tuchel’s back-line since he took charge in January, though he will be out of contract next summer when he can leave on a free transfer.
Foreign teams are allowed to begin pre-contract negotiations with the defender when his deal enters the last six months, in January, and he already has a number of European giants queuing up.
Chelsea opened discussions with Rudiger’s camp over a new contract months ago, though The Telegraph claim that he is unwilling to accept their offer of £140,000-a-week – which is a £40,000 increase on his current salary.
Having become such a major component of Chelsea’s Champions League-winning team, he wants at least double of his wages and feels he would be offered that by other teams as a free agent.
Rudiger is also aware that some players are already earning over £200,000-a-week, which include Romelu Lukaku, N’Golo Kante and Timo Werner.
But the Blues are unlikely to cave into his demands and any protracted talks certainly will not be resolved before January, when Rudiger will be free to start talking to foreign clubs.
Real Madrid, PSG, Juventus and Bayern are all interested in the Germany international, who would have his pick of clubs if he does not sign a new contract.
Rudiger would like to stay at Stamford Bridge, however, and is still mulling over how much money he’d be ready to sacrifice in order to continue at the club – particularly when he knows that this is likely to be his last big contract before he retires.
At this stage, there are little or no signs of any progress being made while Chelsea’s decision not to accept Willian’s huge demands just over a year ago have been vindicated by his struggles at Arsenal.
