Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger has issued a stern warning to the club’s new signing and his new centre-back partner Dean Huijsen as Xabi Alonso continue to experiment his centre-back options.
Rudiger played alongside Huijsen as Real Madrid secured a convincing 3-0 win against Red Bull Salzburg to secure their progress to the round of 16 in the Club World Cup. The Spanish giant will now face Juventus who lost 5-2 to Premier League giant Manchester City in their last group stage match.
Following the game, Rudiger shared a picture on Instagram showing Huijsen watching along as the German defender flipped himself into the air, captioning it “get used to that”.
The game was the first time that Huijsen started alongside Madrid’s veteran defender Rudiger since joining Los Blancos from Bournemouth in a deal worth £50 million (€58m/$68m).
It turned out to be a busy day for the young Spaniard, who won three out of his four aerial duels and won half of his duels on the ground as Salzburg caused trouble with 12 shots against the Spanish giants.
Real Madrid have invested in their defense this summer with Trent Alexander-Arnold joining the club from Liverpool and Huijsen arriving from Bournemouth.
The additions of both players to the Madrid squad are part of Florentino Perez’s plan for a defensive makeover at the club after their disappointing 2024-25 campaign. The club have also shown interest in signing Benfica’s Alvaro Carreras all summer, but the Portuguese club president denies receiving any offer from Madrid.
Real Madrid board are now focus on extending Vinicius Jr.’s contract at the club. The Brazilian winger who has previously stated that he hopes to stay at Bernabeu for years to come is tied to Madrid until June 2027.
