Antonio Rüdiger
Antonio Rüdiger is a German centre-back for Real Madrid, a Champions League winner with Chelsea and Madrid who also uses his platform to speak about racism and support young people in Sierra Leone.
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Latest
Antonio’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Chelsea FC
The Players’ Tribune
The Players’ TribuneOverview
- Born
- 3 March 1993, Berlin, Germany
- Position
- Centre-back
- First Bundesliga appearance
- January 2012, VfB Stuttgart
- Career milestone
- Champions League winner with Chelsea in 2021
- Current club
- Real Madrid
Mini bio
How it started.
Antonio grew up playing on the concrete pitches of Berlin-Neukölln. In his own account for The Players’ Tribune, he traces his hunger and forceful style back to those games. His early football heroes included George Weah and Brazil’s Ronaldo, and he began as a forward before moving into defence.
Finding his place.
His Bundesliga breakthrough came at VfB Stuttgart in January 2012. That year he won the gold Fritz Walter Medal at under-19 level. A move to Roma followed in 2015, bringing the Champions League football he had dreamed of playing.
From London to Madrid.
Antonio joined Chelsea in 2017 and became part of a team that won the FA Cup, Europa League and Champions League. Chelsea’s farewell tribute singled out his tackle to deny Phil Foden in the 2021 European final. He moved to Real Madrid in 2022, where another memorable European moment came when he scored the deciding shootout penalty against Manchester City in 2024.
Beyond the pitch.
Antonio has written openly about experiencing racist abuse and the need for people in football to listen and act. His community work also reaches Sierra Leone: in UNHCR’s 2026 campaign, he described his foundation’s work to help young people and families access education, sport and healthcare.
Creditschronological, newest first
Club football
- 2022–presentReal MadridDefender
- 2017–2022Chelsea FCDefender
- 2015–2017AS RomaDefender
- 2012–2015VfB StuttgartFirst-team defender
International football
- 2014–2026GermanySenior international
Writing
- 2022Dear ChelseaAuthor
- 2021This Article Will Not Solve Racism in FootballAuthor
Awards
Quotes
Football is my lifeAntonio Rüdiger, official website
His personal website introduces his commitment to the game with these words.
Trivia
- He started out as a forward before switching to central defence.
- His first homemade football shirt was a George Weah shirt.
- Older children on the concrete pitches in Neukölln nicknamed him “Rambo”, as he recalled in Dear Chelsea.
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