Mesut Ozil cannot understand why Chelsea let key player leave | OneFootball

Germany international centre-back Antonio Rudiger was the hero for Real Madrid last night, bagging a 78th-minute goal in their 1-0 victory over Real Mallorca to send his side top of La Liga.

Former Arsenal flop Mesut Ozil was quick to remind Chelsea what they are missing on social media.

The 30-year-old left the Blues at the end of the 2021-22 campaign after his deal expired and joined Madrid afterwards as a free agent.

While Chelsea have struggled since Rudiger left, the La Liga giants have been strengthened defensively as a result of signing the former AS Roma star.

He has since helped them land the Copa del Rey, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, and they are hoping to pip Girona, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona to the league title this term.

Mallorca proved difficult to break down last night, but Rudiger stepped up to help Madrid secure all three points.

Ozil took to social media platform X to shower praise on his former international teammate and poke fun at Chelsea.

The Stamford Bridge club brought in Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile to bolster their options at centre-back after Rudiger left.

However, the duo have failed to impress, and the Blues are now looking to pip Manchester United and Liverpool to Benfica centre-back Antonio Silva.

Chelsea are preparing for life without Brazilian centre-back Thiago Silva, who turns 40 in September and is expected to leave when his contract ends at the end of the current campaign.

They did not do enough to hold on to Rudiger and may need to break the bank in their bid to bring in a solid centre-back, with Benfica demanding £87 million for Silva having rejected their £52m proposal and Armando Broja as a makeweight.