Chelsea receive ultimatum as Real Madrid wait in the wings with lucrative offer

Antonio Rudiger is ramping up the pressure on Chelsea to meet his demands in order to keeo him at Stamford Bridge beyond this summer. The German centre-back's current deal expires in June, and he is being courted by a number of top European clubs.

The Blues are keen to retain the Germany international's services, but their initial offers have been rejected by Rudiger's representatives. According to Athletic, the 28-year-old is one of the lowest earners among the senior players in the squad at around £90,000-a-week.

Rudiger is currently demanding weekly wages of £225,000-a-week to sign a new deal and remain with the west London club. Chelsea's first offer was around £140,000, but it was swiftly rejected by the German's agents, and it was expected that he will leave the club on a free transfer in the summer.

The former Stuttgart defender is not short of suitors, with Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich already making lucrative offers to join them on a free transfer. Rudiger is allowed to sign a pre-contract with clubs outside England, but Chelsea have reinitiated contact with a fresh offer of around £200,000-a-week.

The club and Rudiger's representatives are said to be positive about reaching an agreement before the end of the campaign. The German recently revealed that he was happy to continue his career at Stamford Bridge, but indicated that Chelsea will have to up their offer in order to convince him to sign a new deal.

"I feel great here, I have always said it. I think the way I play you can see that I'm happy here. But there are also other people who have to make decisions," Rudiger told The Athletic recently.

Chelsea are facing the prospect of losing three members of their backline on a free transfer this summer. Along with Rudiger, centre-back Andreas Christensen and right-back Cesar Azpilicueta are also out of contract.

However, Chelsea have made securing Rudiger to a new contract their top priority with Christensen looking likely to leave the Premier League club. The Denmark international has been linked with a move to Barcelona, but the Blues have no intention of letting Rudiger follow him out the door to join the likes of Real or PSG.