Thomas Tuchel has revealed Germany defender Antonio Rudiger will leave Chelsea when his contract expires at the end of this season as an English media said that he is closed to joining with Real Madrid.

Tuchel had hoped to persuade Rudiger to stay at Stamford Bridge, but the centre-back has opted to end his five-year spell with the Premier League club.

Chelsea’s attempts to keep Rudiger were hampered by the British government’s sanctions on Russian owner Roman Abramovich, which included a rule that existing players could not sign new contracts.

The Blues are believed to have made a contract offer to Rudiger prior to the sanctions, but the deal was never finalised after a request was reportedly made for large signing-on and agent fees.

The 29-year-old, who arrived in west London from Roma in 2017, is reported to be keen on a move to Real Madrid, with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain also interested in offering him a lucrative free agent deal.

“Toni, the media is on it. The situation is that he wants to leave the club. He informed me of this is in a private talk,” Tuchel said.

“We gave everything, me and the club, but we could not fight anymore because of the actions. Without the sanctions we would at least be able to carry on fighting, but our hands are tied. We don’t take it personally. It is his decision.”

Meanwhile, Real Madrid are close to signing Rudiger on a free transfer after reaching a verbal agreement with the Chelsea defender over a lucrative four-year contract, according to a report released by The Guardian on April 26, 2022.

The report said Rudiger held positive talks with the Bernabeu club’s hierarchy over the weekend and is set to receive a considerable pay rise having decided to leave Chelsea when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Real’s manager, Carlo Ancelotti, has identified the Germany international as a key signing and while the move has not been finalised it is should be confirmed soon. The 29-year-old is expected to earn at least £200,000 ($255,247) a week as he earns around £90,000 a week at Chelsea.