Rudiger Pays Tribute To Chelsea Fans Ahead Of Exit

Rudiger joined Chelsea from AS Roma in the summer of 2017 and has won one FA Cup, the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and Europa League in his time at the club.

Rudiger will leave Chelsea at the end of the season and is likely to join Real Madrid as a free agent.

"This one guy in the crowd started shouting abuse at me," Rudiger wrote in the Players' Tribune, looking back on a 6-0 loss to Manchester City in 2019. "He was maybe five metres away, looking me right in the eyes. 

"Listen, I have heard abuse all my life, but this was different. It was really personal. I shouted to him, 'Hey, if you want to talk, then come down here, and we can have a conversation'.

"Of course, he didn't even take one step. Immediately, he stopped shouting. And what was remarkable to me was that all the fans around him turned to him and said, 'Hey, what are you doing? What's wrong with you?' The fans – the real fans – started cheering for me even louder. 

"It was so overwhelming that even the idiot started clapping, too. The other fans literally made him clap and apologise to me. 

"I will never forget that. Never. There is hatred in the football world, for sure. That's a fact. I have experienced the worst of it. But there is also a lot of joy, too. At Chelsea, I experienced both extremes. 

"Yes, I heard the abuse. But I also felt the love. At the end of the day, the light was stronger than the darkness. For that, I will always be Chelsea."

"Chelsea will always be in my heart," he wrote. "London will always be my home. I came here alone, and now I have a wife and two beautiful kids. I also have a new brother for life named Kova [Mateo Kovacic]. 

"I have an FA Cup, a Europa League and a Champions League medal. And of course, I have hundreds of memories that will stay with me forever. 

"Unfortunately, my contract negotiations had already started to get difficult last fall. Business is business, but when you don't hear any news from the club from August to January, the situation becomes complicated.

"After the first offer, there was a long gap of just nothing. We're not robots, you know? You cannot wait for months with so much uncertainty about your future."