Rüdiger reveals why he didn’t sign for PSG

In an interview for Canal+ Afrique, Antonio Rüdiger explained why he preferred to join Real Madrid rather than PSG last summer. A choice of the heart if we are to believe the story he then gives of his attachment to the merengue club.

“I have nothing against PSG but…” In an interview for Canal+ Afrique, Antonio Rüdiger discussed his arrival at the club, PSG’s interest in recruiting him and the reasons that led him to refuse the Parisians. He also evokes a very revealing anecdote with Florentino Pérez on the work behind the scenes to prepare future recruitments.

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“That’s not what I’m looking for”

“There were a lot of rumors about my signing, but every time the name of PSG came up, you wrote to me and I said to you: ‘This is not what I’m looking for’. I have nothing against PSG is a beautiful club, with everything you need. But next door, there is Real Madrid… Real Madrid!” he still raves today. The central defender finally signed freely in the Spanish capital this summer.

He explains that the Champions League campaign with Chelsea during the title and the following one where the Blues were knocked out by Real in a crazy scenario were revelations. “You know when I really realized I could go to Real? When I won the Champions League with Chelsea, I knew I could go. That’s when I understood that I was ready for Real Madrid. If you want to be on the winning side, you have to go to Real Madrid.”

“One day I will play there”

He also says he received a letter from Florentino Pérez in 2016, who had already convinced him at the time to sign for Real in the future: “I received a letter from Florentino Pérez in 2016, when I had a big wound. I had it in front of me every day and I thought: ‘A man like me?’ Before this letter, Real Madrid seemed very far to me. With the letter, I said to myself: ‘One day I will get there, one day I will play there’. He wished me a good recovery… I couldn’t believe it. My mom kept it.”

He is now convinced of having made the right choice and of being at a “different club”: “You see it first with the presentation. With all due respect to other clubs, but here , you see the difference. Look at the presentation of Cristiano Ronaldo or Benzema. The trophy room, the history in this room…”