Real Madrid have a number of big decisions to make this summer when it comes to who stays as part of the squad and who goes. There are a number of veteran players on expiring contracts and the club is trying to make up their minds as to who stays and who is shown the door. It seems all but certain that David Alaba and Dani Carvajal will be departing the club once their contracts expire, but for one defender, his future is still up in the air.
Antonio Rudiger only has a few months left on his contract and the club are on the fence about what his future holds with Los Blancos. Initial reports suggested Real were ready to let Rudiger leave once his contract expires in the summer, however now reports suggest the club are closer to renewing his contract than they were before. This now begs the question is it worth keeping the defender?
Antonio Rudiger, should he stay or should he go?
At 33-years-old, the German isn't getting any younger, and while he is still good for a solid performance, father time is starting to catch up to Rudiger. The philosophy of the club in recent years has been to sign younger players as they are looking to build the best squad for the future and keeping a 33-year-old Rudiger over signing a new central defender like Nico Schlotterbeck or Ibrahima Konate doesn't make much sense and could be a move that costs the club in the end.
On top of that the financial aspect of renewing the German wouldn't make sense given his age. Rudiger is currently on €280,000 per week and given how much the club has had to rely on him in wake of all the defensive injuries, he would no doubt try to ask for a pay rise with a new deal, and at 33-years-old, renewing him on higher wages instead of using that money on a younger player wouldn't make any sense for the club going forward.
There's no denying Rudiger has been a loyal servant to the club since his arrival in the summer of 2022. The German has done what he's been asked to do, played when called on without complaint, and has stepped up big on a number of occasions, filling in for the injured David Alaba, Eder Militao, and Dean Huijsen, and was a major part of all the success Real Madrid achieved during the 2023/24 season.
However as with all players, their time at a club always comes to an end an for Antonio Rudiger and Real Madrid, it makes more sense for his time to come to an end now, and for the club buy a new younger center-back than to keep the German just out of sheer loyalty to the club.