Chelsea defender Rudiger: I saw the dark side of life in Berlin | OneFootball

Chelsea defender Toni Rudiger says he appreciates his upbringing in Berlin.

The Germany international says it helped him develop as a young man.

"In my view it was the best thing that happened to me that I grew up there," said Rudiger to chelseafc.com of his upbringing in Berlin.

"The part of Berlin where I grew up is known in Germany as being a particularly tough area. Only the strongest survive, so to speak.

"I saw the dark side of life there at times. Now that I'm playing football, I see also the other side but that dark side helped me to grow as a player and as a person."

Rudiger also believes people are often quick to judge someone without knowing the full persona of an individual.

"People like to judge very quickly based on what they only see on the pitch because that's the only way people know me," added Rudiger.

"This is not really something that bothers me too much because I know who I am and that's the most important thing.

"Off the field I am the person who loves to make jokes, who wants a good vibe around. When I enter the pitch, that all changes. When I play, of course I want to win and I channel everything into football."