Chelsea legend Frank Lampard blamed for Antonio Rudiger transfer blow: ‘He got completely binned’

Arsenal legend Paul Merson believes Frank Lampard is to blame for Antonio Rudiger’s imminent Chelsea exit.

Germany defender Rudiger is set to leave the Blues at the end of the season after agreeing a four-year deal with Spanish champions Real Madrid.

Since signing from Roma in 2017, Rudiger has made more than 200 appearances for Chelsea and helped the Premier League giants win the Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup and Club World Cup.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel wanted Rudiger to sign a contract extension in west London but the 29-year-old rejected an offer of more than £200,000-a-week in favour of a move to the Bernabeu.

Merson says Rudiger’s departure will ‘break hearts’ at Chelsea and has blamed Blues legend Lampard for the transfer blow.

Rudiger fell out of favour during Lampard’s tenure as manager and Merson reckons the German decided he would move on when his contract expires after being ‘completely binned’ by his former boss.

‘Losing Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid is going to break Chelsea’s heart – but his mind was made up 18 months ago with the way he was treated by Frank Lampard,’ Merson told Sky Sports.

‘He got completely binned out the team by Lampard and I think that left a lasting effect on Rudiger. That’s when he decided that he’s not signing a new contract.

‘Years ago, if Real Madrid and Barcelona came calling then you went. I don’t see that anymore.

‘Chelsea are as good as Real Madrid, you can see that in the Champions League quarter-final. The Blues had a bad 45 minutes but apart from that they were a far superior team to Real Madrid.

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