Multi million pound defender talks about faith and God’s timing

The German footballer, who stands at 6 foot 3 inches, recently completed a £31 million move to Chelsea from Italian side Roma.

In an interview in The Sun on Sunday, he shared his feelings about the intense racist abuse he received in Italy.  He said: “You feel alone. I can keep my focus but people love to say ‘stay calm’ or ‘don’t do anything’.

“It is easy for you to say those things when you are not black and you never feel what it is like.

“You cannot put yourself in my position of how that feels.

“In that moment, it is like this: You are alone.

“You have to be strong. But each human is different. Someone takes it and doesn’t react. Others react. I can understand both.”

However, it was when he explained about a recent injury that he was referred to his faith.

Rudiger has initially been included in Germany’s squad for Euro 2016. However, a ligament injury ruled him out just a few days before the start of the competition.

He said: “The injury could have been the biggest moment of my career.

“But I believe in God and everything has its time.  So one year later I won the Confederations Cup and I am at Chelsea.

“Of course, at that moment it was sad.

“I knew then I had to work to get stronger. And this is what happened.

“I always wanted to play in the Premier League and it is now years since my name was first linked to Chelsea.

“Everything bides its time. It wasn’t the right moment and now I am here.”

In a poll taken by over 300 people on The Sun’s website, 70% of them felt that Rudiger was ‘the man to replace John Terry’, after Chelsea’s most successful captain left the club after almost two decades at the club.

International footballer Antonio Rudiger has claimed his faith in God has helped him in the tougher times of his career.