Antonio Rudiger will be a part of the Germany team trying to beat Costa Rica in their final Group game at the World Cup – and the defender faces an unusual dilemma in the match.
Germany are bottom of Group E coming into the 7pm tie at the Al Bayt Stadium following a shock 2-1 defeat by Japan and a 1-1 draw with Spain. They know victory is imperative if they are to qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament.
Costa Rica are in a similar boat, but their 1-0 win over Japan means they have some more leeway, with a draw against Germany enough to send them through if Spain beat the Japanese in the night’s other tie. The Central American side are led by veteran goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who has an unusual connection with Rudiger.
Rudiger left Chelsea as a free agent to join Real Madrid over the summer and he is currently renting a Villa from Navas, who still owns a property in Madrid from his time there. The 35-year-old keeper spent five years between the sticks for Real before leaving for Paris Saint-Germain in 2019.
The former Chelsea centre-back was asked if Navas might consider kicking him out and finding a new tenant if Germany ended Costa Rica’s World Cup dream. "As long as you pay the rent on time, I don’t think that will happen,” Rudiger said. "Keylor is a great goalkeeper, so I don’t underestimate him."
Rudiger is far from the first – and won’t be the last – footballer to rent a property off a fellow professional. With players moving around so often in the modern game, they don’t always have much time to hunt for property.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Can you think of any other similar situations? Comment below.
Former England defender turned pundit Micah Richards revealed on Match of the Day in July 2020 that he used to rent a house to Manchester City star David Silva. “He did, he kept it in immaculate condition as well,” he told Gary Lineker.
“He was a great tenant. I should have charged him a little more rent, with all the money he’s making, but he kept it brilliantly.”
More recently, there were reports that Sadio Mane would ask his former Liverpool teammate Thiago Alcantara if he could rent his house in Munich after he signed for Bayern Munich. Thiago spent seven years at Bayern before joining Liverpool in 2020 and still owns a mansion in Munich, which had reportedly been empty for two years.