Report: Rudiger set to join Real on free

Antonio Rudiger looks set for La Liga.

Guillem Balague tells BBC Sport that the Germany centre-back will sign for Real Madrid upon the expiry of his Chelsea deal at season's end.

Rudiger, 29, is expected to sign a four-year deal with Los Blancos. Manchester United, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain were also said to be interested in the Berlin native's services.

On Sunday, manager Thomas Tuchel announced that Rudiger was leaving Stamford Bridge, citing the sanctions placed upon owner Roman Abramovich as the main reason why Chelsea couldn't retain his services.

"We gave everything and now we enter a situation where we can't fight any more because of the sanctions and now Toni will leave," Tuchel said. "Our hands are tied. I don't know what would have been the outcome [without sanctions]. That's his decision. It's not a nice one for us but we don't take it personally."

Rudiger is currently in his fifth season with the Blues after a £29 million move from Roma. In his time in London, Rudiger has won an FA Cup, the 2019 Europa League title and the Champions League in 2021.

He has made 47 appearances for Chelsea this season across all competitions.

Internationally, Rudiger has been capped 50 times by Die Mannschaft.

Should the deal come to fruition, it would mark the second straight season in which Real made a significant defensive addition on a free transfer. Last summer, Austria defender David Alaba joined the club on a Bosman from Bayern Munich.