Real Madrid have officially extended the contract of Antonio Rudiger for one more year, as we analyze his role going into the new campaign.
Real Madrid will have a lot to do this summer in order to get back to winning ways after faltering for two straight seasons.
Apart from new signings, Los Blancos will also have to evaluate their current players, as Jose Mourinho looks to build a squad that fits his plans for the future of the club.
The Whites will now have to sit across the table with some of their key first-team players, like Vinicius Junior, Brahim Diaz, Thibaut Courtois, Fran Garcia, and Dani Ceballos, as their contracts are set to expire during the summer of 2027.
Following the end of the previous campaign, Dani Carvajal and David Alaba decided to depart Los Blancos upon the expiry of their contract.
Apparently, another defender, Antonio Rudiger's contract was also set to expire this summer, and Madrid had to make a decision pretty quickly regarding the future of the German.
As it seems, Mourinho would like to have the experienced defender for at least another campaign as the Merengues decided to extend his contract for at least another year, and the new contract now stands extended till June 2027.
Now, a really intriguing question arises: Will the German center-back be an out-and-out starter under Mourinho, or will he play backup to Eder Militao and Ibrahima Konate, or any other defender whom Los Blancos might bring in during the next few months?
Konate being a starter at Madrid is close to certain, whereas Militao is expected to return before the start of La Liga following a successful surgery back in April this year, although the Brazilian might miss pre-season training given his current recovery timeline.
As of now, Los Blancos have reportedly shown interest in Borussia Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck and Manchester City's Ruben Dias, and Florentino Perez is certainly looking to be in a mood where he would not hesitate to even break the bank for Mourinho.
Certainly, Rudiger is aware of the current situation, and as a matter of fact, it is most likely that the Portuguese manager and the club management had a discussion regarding how it would be for the 33-year-old defender next season.
By the looks of it, Rudiger will add some much-needed depth to Madrid's backline rather than be an untouchable starter, but that definitely doesn't mean that the Whites value him any less than the others, as we all saw how the Merengues struggled with make-shift center backs during the previous two campaigns.
