“We’ll Miss Rudiger When He Goes” -Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Antonio Rudiger will leave the club this summer on a free transfer.

Speaking to Sky Sports after Chelsea’s 1-0 Premier League win over West Ham, Tuchel said: “The situation seems to be that he will leave the club.

“He informed me some days ago in a personal talk. “I have the feeling that we gave everything over many months – me personally but also the club.

“Now we enter into a situation where we could not fight any more because of the sanctions [imposed due to the club’s ownership by Roman Abramovich] and Toni said he will leave the club in the summer.

“Without the sanctions we would’ve had the chance to keep on fighting, but for many weeks our hands have been tied. I don’t know what would’ve been the outcome, but it’s his decision.

“It’s not a nice one for us but [we] don’t take it personally, he was an absolutely brilliant level character-wise and on the pitch.
“He’s a key figure and he will stay a key figure until the end of the season, but we’re disappointed of course. We’ll miss him a lot when he goes. He’s a huge influence on the dressing room, he’s the guy to give other people courage, he’s the guy that everybody’s a bit afraid of. But he’s also the guy to play 50-55 games, 90 minutes, on an outstanding level.

“He was the top defender in the last 18 months with me and I have nothing but respect for what he did.

“He needs to keep on going until the end but then we need to find another solution.”