‘I played under Frank Lampard at Chelsea and really wanted to leave before his sacking’

One player was eager to leave Stamford Bridge under Frank Lampard’s tutelage when Chelsea unceremoniously fired him in 2021.

Frank Lampard took charge of Chelsea on an interim basis in 2023 after they sacked Thomas Tuchel (Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)

Antonio Rudiger, a former Chelsea defender, recently came clean about his desire to leave the club under Frank Lampard’s management.

During his five years with the Premier League powerhouse, the German international won a slew of domestic cups and was instrumental in Chelsea’s 2021 Champions League victory.

While Rudiger, 30, was a player for the club, he was managed by three different people. If he had his way, he might have left earlier than 2022, as he wanted to during Lampard’s tenure.

Lampard had favored a defensive partnership of Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen, which left Rudiger on the fringes of the first team and made him contemplate his future, despite Rudiger’s importance to Chelsea under Antonio Conte.

“To tell you the truth, I’m still unable to pinpoint precisely what occurred during that time,” he told Goal. Playing football involves that. Perhaps Lampard had different thoughts or had a better view of other players. I believe I gave the ideal answer, though, and that’s the beauty of football: the solution is right there on the field.

Rudiger confirmed whether any of Lampard’s teammates had resigned following Chelsea’s dismal performance in early 2021, which landed them in ninth place in the Premier League. This led to Lampard’s dismissal.

“In my career, nothing like that has ever happened,” he replied with conviction. By the time Lampard’s tenure came to a close, I had even played under him again. In other words, if it doesn’t fit after a certain amount of time, it never will. Still, not a single football player ever intentionally loses a game.

When he wanted out of Chelsea, the Real Madrid player said that Thomas Tuchel’s Paris Saint-Germain were his first choice. It was my deepest desire to depart. My desire was to depart. It was my desire to play for Paris Saint-Germain under Thomas Tuchel’s tutelage, Rudiger continued.

He went on to say that he preferred Lampard’s man-management style to his compatriot’s “honest manner” of speaking with his players.

Rudiger was fortunate that Tuchel succeeded Lampard at Stamford Bridge, where he enjoyed his finest playing days before deciding to leave for Real Madrid in 2022 on a free transfer.