“The most important decision of my professional career” – Antonio Rudiger provides update on Chelsea contract talks

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has called his contract negotiations one of the most important decisions of his footballing career so far.

Speaking to Sky Germany, Rudiger confirmed that so far he hasn't spoken to any clubs apart from Chelsea.

“For me, this will now be the most important decision of my professional career. I haven’t spoken to any other club than Chelsea," Rudiger said.

Rudiger's contract is one of the most talked about topics regarding Chelsea. The 28-year-old has entered the final year of his contract with the Blues. As things stand, the club and the player have not reached common ground in the negotiations.

Chelsea are running out of time to offer Rudiger a new contract. If the Blues fail to offer a new contract before January, Rudiger will be allowed to sign a pre-contract with other European giants. It will allow him to move clubs on a free transfer in the summer of 2022.

Rudiger has been a vital member of Thomas Tuchel's side which lifted the Champions League last season. The German international, who wasn't used enough by Frank Lampard, redeemed his career after the arrival of Tuchel.

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Bayern Munich are interested in signing Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger

Bayern Munich are the latest club to show interest in signing Rudiger if Chelsea fail to offer a new deal to their star defender, according to a report from Goal.

Bayern Munich have joined the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid as clubs who could sign the 28-year-old next summer. According to the aforementioned source, Bayern have been in contact with Rudiger's brother and agent Sahr Senesie. However, the talks are pretty much in their initial stages.

Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann is hoping to sign a new defender to replace Niklas Sule. Similar to Rudiger's situation at Chelsea, Sule has a contract expiring in the summer of 2022.

When asked recently about the possibility of signing Antonio Rudiger from Chelsea, Nagelsmann said:

“I'm generally not a big fan of talking about players who are under contract elsewhere, and besides, we're outside the transfer period."

“I'm talking about him now as a football fan because he is a German senior international," he added. "He has made a super development. Thomas [Tuchel] has handled him extremely well - he was still on the sidelines at Chelsea a year ago and is now certainly one of their most decisive players."

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