Are the Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid transfer rumors a giant scheme?

File this under “wild stories to start 2022”. For months, we have heard about how Real Madrid are closing in on signing Chelsea center back Antonio Rudiger. Everyone has been calling Los Blancos the favorites to sign the German international, with some outlets even suggesting the deal has already been pre-agreed.

One outlet that has consistently stated Real are going hard after Rudiger? ABC Deportes, which reported a while back that Los Merengues view free agents like Rudiger and Paul Pogba as priorities. Pogba has since been taken off the list of targets.

And is that now the case for Rudiger, too?

That same journalist for ABC, Tomas Gonzalez-Martin, recently wrote an article stating Rudiger wants 20 million euros in bonuses and would get around an 8.5 million euro salary from Madrid. This report went on to mention PSG’s heightened interest in the player,  but Gonzalez-Martin stated that Rudiger only wants Madrid.

I encourage you to read the article here for one very specific reason.

It no longer says any of that.

Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid simply agent-driven rumors?

Gonzalez-Martin’s article has now been heavily edited to state that Real Madrid do not want Rudiger. They would prefer to sign a younger center back, because they feel Eder Militao and David Alaba have settled things as starters. Presumably, they would want a younger backup than Rudiger. On top of that, the ABC report now states that Real believe Rudiger’s agent, his brother is simply using Los Blancos to drive up the player’s wages – I am guessing from a club like Chelsea, PSG, Bayern Munich, or Manchester United.

What do we make of this sudden twist? Were the rumors fake to begin with? Certainly, most Madridistas would prefer a younger player like Jules Kounde, who has been exceptional in LaLiga this season. He may already be a better player than Rudiger. And then there is Matthijs de Ligt, if he is willing to take a reduced role. There are a multitude of cheaper options salary-wise who are young and willing to be backups. They should not be too expensive in transfer fees either.

The whole appeal with Rudiger is that he is a Champions League winner on a free transfer who can be a reliable third center back at a time when squad depth is increasingly vital. But the drawbacks are the wages and his age. He is not the type of ascending player Real usually want to invest in, and he isn’t as proven or accomplished as David Alaba, if we are being honest.

Rudiger’s transfer has always generated mixed feelings from Madridistas, most of us were sure Real were genuinely interested and favorites. Every outlet has told us so, and not just the ones in the UK that Madridistas are usually wary of. MARCA, AS, reliable reporters, and even ABC Deportes themselves have told us this.

What a bizarre report, to be blunt, but what an interesting one nonetheless. It is reporting that will spark more Rudiger debates, as many Real Madrid fans are indeed open to someone else – someone up-and-coming. Let’s see if more reporters chime in and if anyone corroborates the version of events from “TGM” that this is all just agent-driven.

Perhaps Real were once interested, but, convinced by Alaba and Militao as starters with Nacho as the veteran backup, Los Blancos now want to go young just as they will at forward and in midfield with their new signings. Otherwise, I find it hard to believe so many outlets could have fallen for such a scheme for so long.