"Just give him the money" - Emmanuel Petit urges Chelsea to accept star's demands, claims it would be 'a real pity' if he leaves

According to reports, Antonio Rudiger and Chelsea have reached a stalemate with contract renewal negotiations. The German centre-half expects a substantial pay rise, but Chelsea are only intent on meeting him halfway.

The situation has created an opportunity for other European giants to keep tabs on the Chelsea star's contract proceedings while waiting for the January transfer window. German outlet Bild via The Mirror reported that Bayern Munich are willing to offer Ruidger £200,000-a-week to make the move to Germany.

Former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has urged the Blues to renew Antonio Rudiger's contract no matter what it takes. The 28-year old has been a mainstay of the Chelsea team under Thomas Tuchel. In his interview with bookmakers.co.uk, he explained:

"If he leaves, it would be a real pity for Chelsea. If I remember correctly before Tuchel came in, he was on the bench and wasn’t playing. Now he looks like one of the best defenders around. He could leave on a free and Chelsea would have to spend a minimum of £30m to find a new defender of his level.

"And there’s never a guarantee a buy will work out. If he asks for two more years, just give him the money. This guy is a survivor. Since Tuchel has been the manager he’s been one of the top defenders in world football."

The former French international also compared Rudiger to "crazy" defenders like Arsenal legend Martin Keown:

He reminds me of the crazy defenders I used to play with back in the day like Martin Keown. Those types of guys were always really tough on other players, and playing against them was both a physical and mental battle because they could make you feel bad on the pitch.

"I think Rudiger is similar and it must be very tough to be on the pitch with him because you can disappear very quickly. He always plays the ball but he also plays the players and strikers know that and it can be intimidating.

"Sometimes he tries to destroy strikers – and I don’t really like that side of his game. But for me, the priority of a defender is to scare strikers. People might not understand that but it’s true, you have to scare them to try and stop them from scoring goals. For me, Rudiger is one of the hardest defenders in the world."

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The most important thing is that I feel happy here: Rudiger speaks about Chelsea contract stalemate

Germany v Liechtenstein - 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier

Although contract issues may put the star at odds with Chelsea, Rudiger claims he's enjoying life at Stamford Bridge. Discussing the contract speculations, he said:

“The most important thing is that I feel happy here. I think if people look at it, they can see I’m happy. About the contract situation, I talk with the club. This is for nobody’s ears. It was how I said it would be after the Euros – there would be talks.

“There was a talk between Marina [Granovskaia, a Chelsea director] and my agent. We have the situation where we are at now and I have nothing to do with all the speculation. This is not in my mind. I’m focused on what I’m doing because this is why I wake up every morning.”