Chelsea star reveals he was close to leaving Stamford Bridge last summer

Antonio Rudiger was close to Chelsea exit last summer

According to Sky Sports, Antonio Rudiger claims he was close to an exit from Chelsea last summer. He had an offer from PSG with Thomas Tuchel being the manager there. There were also talks of a potential move to Tottenham as Rudiger is believed to have talked with Jose Mourinho.

Rudiger had a tough start to the season under Frank Lampard. The German defender had played just one league game out of 15, with Lampard sticking to the duo of Thiago Silva and Kurt Zouma. An exit looked likely back in October but the defender chose to stay back and win his place.

Since Tuchel Took over, Rudiger has been a regular presence on the three-man defence. He has played in 10 out of 12 games under Tuchel, keeping a clean sheet in 8 of them.

However, Rudiger confirmed that he was almost heading for an exit from Stamford Bridge at the start of this season.

“I was close (to leaving). There were really like two teams, maybe one team I was considering, that was PSG to be honest. “There was (a) call also with Mourinho, but this is something at the end of the day that didn’t happen, and with Tuchel also, (but it) didn’t happen. I was upset of course because I knew my situation and wouldn’t play that often.”

More Chelsea News

• Glenn Hoddle speaks out on Tammy Abraham’s situation at Chelsea
• Thomas Tuchel warns Chelsea about the threat from Marcos Llorente
• Ben Chilwell says that competition for places is benefitting everyone

There has also been talk of Rudiger being handed a new deal, with his current one set to end in about a year. The defender is keen on staying at the club despite his struggles earlier in the season. However, he is not concerned much about that and is focusing on the games ahead.