“Even Ronaldo Got Criticized Here”: Rudiger Opens Up on How He Deals With Pressure at Real Madrid

• Antonio Rudiger has revealed how he manages to get over criticism
• He cited Cristiano Ronaldo and other club icons as his examples when dealing with pressure
• The 30-year-old has played his way into becoming a mainstay at Real Madrid after initial struggles following his free transfer last summer

Antonio Rudiger has opened up on how he deals with pressure at Real Madrid.

The hard-tackling central defender swapped Chelsea for Madrid last summer, and despite struggling to secure a permanent berth in Carlo Ancelotti's lineup at the start of the season, he has grown in leaps and bounds.

According to Transfermarkt, Rudiger has made 42 appearances across all competitions for Los Blancos and remains one of the club's key players as the season draws to a close.

When quizzed on how he has managed to deal with the ever-demanding nature of the club's fanbase, the 30-year-old suggested he has devised a mechanism which helps him.

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He cited Madrid's record goal scorer Cristiano Ronaldo, current club captain Karim Benzema and mercurial midfielder Luka Modric as his source of inspiration when dealing with pressure.

“For me, it’s very simple. Because Cristiano got criticized here, Benzema got criticized here, Luka Modrić, all of them" Rudiger said as quoted by MadridXtra.

He added: "Who am I not to get criticized?”

Why Rudiger deliberately makes mistakes

Meanwhile, Rudiger has disclosed he deliberately made mistakes in games last season in order to get the crowd charged, Sports Brief reported.

The 29-year-old was a key figure in Chelsea's backline under Thomas Tuchel and produced a number of masterclass performances as the Blues advanced to two domestic cup finals.

Rudiger, who was a fan favourite with the Chelsea faithful, has admitted that he sometimes deliberately made mistakes to wake up the "quiet" crowd.

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Fans hurl objects at Rudiger

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that supporters of Cadiz did not make life easy for Real Madrid following their La Liga encounter last week.

German defender Antonio Rudiger, in particular, found himself in the bad books of the fans, despite gifting one of their own with his shirt after the game.

Cadiz supporters threw objects at the Madrid star after the game, while he went to give one of the fans his match shirt. They also swore at him.