Rüdiger says he “would be happy to play with Havertz again”

Rüdiger and Havertz won a Champions League together, something that unites more than just being teammates. As well as sharing a home nation, they were teammates at Chelsea together for two years (2020-22), before ‘Rambo’ packed his bags and headed to Spain.

This is where the two journeys separated.... for now. The two players could once again cross paths as Madrid scan the market and look for a Benzema replacement, with Kai as a possibility that is being talked about a lot within the Bernabéu.

“It would make me happy to play with Havertz again at club level”, said the centre-back during the press conference with Germany, who are set to play three friendly games. Rüdiger, after his answer, immediately stopped in his tracks as he was keen not to open the Pandora’s box of potential reaction to the comment. “Unfortunately”; he continued, “I cannot say a lot about it... in terms of transfers, my opinion is secondary. They’re club decisions.”

Chelsea may be forced into selling Havertz to Madrid

A half smile cracked over his face as the words came out, and the next question came along. It’s easy to see and there is no need for Sherlock Holmes: Rüdiger’s friendship with Havertz is public and obvious. In contrast, the topic of the transfer is not especially open at the moment, but Kai is still one of the three potential names on the list of Benzema replacements at the club.

Real Madrid have one thing in their favour regarding a potential deal which is the financial situation of Chelsea: Todd Boehly finds himself in between a rock and a hard place after spending over $600 million on transfers last season; his side are not in Europe which makes his situation even more precarious.

How much would Havertz cost Madrid?

Real Madrid could fish in these waters as an offer of $60-80 million could force Chelsea’s hand for Havertz. The player’s flexibility and age is seen as a huge positive for Madrid, but he is not only a goal scorer but a playmaker as well. “Club decisions”, said Rüdiger. We all know what would happen were it down to him...

The Madrid player, on the eve of the Champions League final that could crown Haaland as a European king, was asked about the striker. At the Bernabéu, there was no sign of the Norwegian who was kept silent by Rüdiger. When asked, the German defender simply said: “”I like trash talking, but so does he! It was a beautiful battle, I enjoyed it.”