Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger opened up on his tough childhood revealing how easy it was to get engaged in criminal activities as he grew up in a troubled neighbourhood.
Rudiger, 30, was born in Berlin to an Afro-German father and a Sierra Leonean mother. In a candid conversation about his life and early struggles, the defender revealed that there were times when his family didn’t have anything to eat.
“I grew up in a troubled neighbourhood. In that situation, I just had to get out because it would have been easy to be drawn into it because sometimes we didn’t know whether we had anything to eat the next day. If you see other boys in your neighbourhood, who suddenly won beautiful cards and certain people wearing designer shoes and stuff like that,” Rugider said.
Rudiger then stated that he wouldn’t have been a good criminal anyway as he is too “nice” for all of that.
“Despite all of that, you decided to think about your future and to think long-term?” asked the lady sitting in front of the German.
“To be honest, at the end of the day, would I have been a good criminal? I don’t think so! Sorry, I will be honest, I would not have the b**** to do crazy things like this. I would be too nice for (all of) that. Yes, for sure,” he added.
Rudiger rose to fame during his time with Italian club AS Roma which earned him a move to Chelsea, where he spent five years and won the UEFA Champions League (UCL), including three FA Cups.
He was Chelsea’s best player in the UCL final against Manchester City as the Blues registered a narrow 1-0 win to claim their second European title.
In 2022, he was signed by Real Madrid on a free transfer after his contract with Chelsea ended. Rudiger adapted to life quickly at the Spanish capital and soon became one of the most important players in the team.
He is currently leading Madrid’s defense as both of their first-choice centre-backs, Eder Militao and David Alaba, have been ruled out with Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tears.
