Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Antonio Rudiger will depart Chelsea in the summer after months of uncertainty surrounding the player’s future.

Rudiger is out of contract in a few months and has informed the Blues boss of his likely imminent departure.

The German defender has been linked with Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain while his agent met with Barcelona officials last month over a potential summer move.

“The media is reporting things and the situation seems to be that he leaves the club,”Tuchel told Sky Sports.

“I have the feeling that we gave everything over many months, both me personally and the club, but unfortunately we were in a position where we could not fight any more because of the sanctions and Toni has said that he will leave the club.

“Without the sanctions we would have at least had the chance to keep fighting for him to stay but for many weeks now, our hands have been tied. I don’t know what the outcome would have been otherwise but this is his decision now. It’s not a nice one for us but we won’t take it personally.

“It will be challenging but no matter how much I love him and how big a role he played, there will be Chelsea without Toni Rudiger and we will find solutions.”

Rudiger joined Chelsea in 2017 from AS Roma and has gone on to make 127 appearances.

He helped the club win the Champions League, Europa League, FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.

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