Real Madrid star rejects offer from Saudi Arabian giants – report | OneFootball

Real Madrid are beefing up their defense ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup.

After all, the 2024/25 season was not an easy one for them in terms of strength at the back with Carlo Ancelotti finding himself seriously depleted of resources in central defence.

The one reliable cog who held the team’s defence together through thick and thin last season was Antonio Rudiger and the player played through pain to ensure the team stayed competitive.

Rudiger refuses an offer

Now 33 years of age and having come out openly about his physical struggles, Rudiger’s situation prompted some offers from across the globe assuming that he may be done with his stint in Madrid.

The German veteran, however, has no plans of leaving the club ahead of next season and is determined to go on to conquer Europe once more as he nears the twilight of his career.

Antonio Rudiger has rejected the offer from Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

As relayed by Sacha Tavoleri, Rudiger has rejected an offer from Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal as of earlier this week.

Needless to say, that shows his commitment to the badge for the offer from the middle-east would undoubtedly have been on lucrative wages.

In fact, the journalist relays that they indeed offered him 3.5 times the wages he is earning at Real Madrid for two years with the option to extend for a third as well.

Al-Hilal, moreover, are one of the best teams in the league and houses some of football’s biggest names including Aleksandar Mitrovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves, Joao Cancelo, and Kalidou Koulibaly.

With Dean Huijsen joining the team and Eder Militao expected to return to complete fitness, Rudiger can have a more laid-back role next season and it remains to be seen where he stands on Xabi Alonso’s pecking order.

What appears certain, however, is that he will have a big role to play on the European nights and could see more rest with regular rotations to ensure he is at the fittest version that he can be.