PSG step up interest in Real Madrid’s No. 1 defensive target

Real Madrid have been looking at a couple of defensive options to strengthen their central defense even more next season. Since Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane left, the team’s defensive structure has seen a little blip, although Eder Militao and David Alaba have handled the load exceptionally well.

But, it’s obvious that Real Madrid still need to sign a center-back, as the backup options aren’t great, and Militao and Alaba cannot play every single game. So, Antonio Rudiger has been a person of interest for Los Blancos, and there have been a number of reports that have talked about Real Madrid’s potential interest in the German, should he be a free agent next summer.

But, they are not the only club that is looking at him. Bayern Munich is also a team that is very interested in signing Rudiger and they’re following his situation at Chelsea as closely as Madrid. PSG have also shown interest in signing the German. In fact, they have stepped it up.

According to a report from Footmercato, PSG have shown a lot of interest in signing Rudiger. They’ve already started talking about a potential transfer with Rudiger’s agent, Sahr Senesie, and it seems like Pochettino approves of this as well.

Real Madrid is still the best option for Rudiger, regardless of what PSG offer

Rudiger is a very solid player that will require minutes, even more so during the prime of his career. I think it’s better from a sporting sense of view if Rudiger joins Real over PSG, since PSG simply have better players, at least on paper, in central defense than Real Madrid. Marquinhos and Sergio Ramos – even though he’s been injured, making it clear why he was sold – should be a very good centre-back pairing.

Behind them would be Presnel Kimpembe, who’s also one of the best centre-backs in France right now. Does Rudiger have a shot at starting over these three players? Yes, if there is an injury crisis, he will definitely start. But I doubt that he’d feature regularly for the club otherwise.

At Real Madrid however, Carlo Ancelotti would rotate between Militao, Alaba and Rudiger, which would mean far more minutes for the Chelsea man.

I think Real Madrid have what it takes to offer Rudiger the money he requires, especially given that they’ll be letting go of a couple of players on huge contracts, and that they won’t really be paying anything as a transfer fee for Rudiger, if he is to arrive at the club. So there should be no problem from a financial perspective, either.

Now, at PSG, we’ve seen what happens if players feel like leaving. We have the whole Mbappe saga to think about. Granted, Mbappe is the centrepiece of their current project, while Rudiger won’t be, but still, it makes you think. At Real Madrid, there is never such a case. The players are usually respected, and their decisions are taken seriously. I think it’s a bigger deal than people realise, which makes Real Madrid a better run club than people realise as well.

There are a number of reasons why Rudiger should join Real Madrid over PSG, but at the end of the day, it’s the decision of the player, and everyone hopes that he makes the right call.