Antonio Rudiger's intermediary fires Chelsea ownership dig at old regime after transfer to Real Madrid

Antonio Rudiger’s intermediary Saif Rubie has made a dig at the former ownership after the German’s transfer from Chelsea to Real Madrid this summer.

Rudiger was one of the first players to depart the Blues in the transfer window, with the centre-back seeing his contract at Stamford Bridge expire after five seasons.

He made the switch to Real Madrid, making five appearances for them so far this season.

Andreas Christensen also left Chelsea at the end of his contract, with the Danish international signing for Madrid’s La Liga rivals Barcelona.

Thomas Tuchel’s side had to dip into the market and sign their replacements for the current campaign, with Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana joining for the centre-back positions.

There was speculation earlier in the year that Rudiger may extend his deal at the club but nothing ever materialised.

Now, for the first time since the transfer, one of the German’s intermediaries has spoken on the move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

When speaking to talkSPORT, Rubie said: “We were talking about Rudiger just as an example.

“The reality is, the previous owners of Chelsea for whatever reason didn’t see the value of keeping him on.

“The Real Madrid deal was the smallest deal on offer. There was a club in England that was offering almost double the amount, there was a club in Europe offering double the amount.

“The player, when Real Madrid wasn’t coming in for him, when Paris Saint-Germain, or Juventus, any of this was all public knowledge, he was very happy to stay at Chelsea.

“If you ask every single Chelsea fan right now, I would confidently think more than 80% would be happy that he would have stayed.”

Chelsea will kick-off their Champions League campaign on Tuesday night against Dinamo Zagreb, with the Blues also set to face AC Milan and FC Salzburg in Group E.

When speaking to the media ahead of the match, Tuchel commented on the prospect of one of his new signings making their first appearance.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made the move from Barcelona on Deadline Day, with Denis Zakaria also joining on loan from Juventus.

The former could play his first minutes for the club, but will have to wear a protective mask.

“If there will come an issue today we will not put him of course,” said Tuchel. 

“There was no issue yesterday. I hope there will not be an issue today. Is he ready to start? Of course. He cannot play 90 minutes. 

“It’s on us to take a decision on how we manage the minutes. He needs minutes to get his full fitness and rhythm. It’s on us to find a solution if he comes from the bench or starts.”