Real Madrid have decided against pursuing Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger, having grown concerned over the money he is demanding.
Rudiger has entered the final six months of his contract, and while he is willing to renew at Chelsea, he is looking for an enormous wage to which the Blues are reluctant to agree, opening the door for a possible departure.
Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are among his suitors, but the belief was that Rudiger was destined to end up at Real by the time next season gets underway.
However, ABC's Tomas Gonzalez-Martin states that Real have pulled out of talks as they believe Rudiger and his agent are simply using them to get a better contract elsewhere.
Those in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu believe that Rudiger's agent and stepbrother Sahr Senesie is using Real's name in an attempt to earn the 28-year-old a whopping €20m (£16.8m) signing-on bonus to go with a huge wage.
Real are not prepared to pay that kind of money as they just signed David Alaba last summer and are preparing to renew the contract of 23-year-old Eder Militao, who is seen as the future of Real's defence after some outstanding performances this season.
Militao is set to pen a new €8.5m-a-year contract at the Bernabeu and his immense progress this season has convinced Real that they no longer need Rudiger.
Bayern and PSG are now expected to go head-to-head to sign Rudiger, whom this report claims does not want to renew at Chelsea.
90min understands that Rudiger has never ruled out staying at Chelsea but believes he deserves to be paid like one of their top players, but the Blues are not yet prepared to come anywhere close to those demands.
Source : 90min