Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger has seemingly acknowledged that playing Chelsea is less formidable than it was when he was at Stamford Bridge.

Last year, Rudiger made the decision to end his five-year association with the Blues to move to the Bernabeu on a free transfer.

At the time, the Germany international suggested that he was ready to take on a new challenge at the age of 29 having also played in his homeland and Italy.

However, the transfer has not necessarily benefitted either club, with Real already on the brink of conceding the La Liga title barring an unlikely collapse from Barcelona.

That said, Rudiger's absence from the Chelsea has been far more notable, the West Londoners only sitting in 11th position in the Premier League table.

In Frank Lampard, Chelsea have their fourth different manager this term, with Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter having been sacked and Bruno Saltor taking charge of one fixture on an interim basis.

Chelsea have also spent over £600m on new players across two transfer windows, the make-up of the Chelsea XI far different to when Rudiger was part of the group.

Ahead of the Champions League quarter-final between the clubs, starting with the first leg in Spain on Wednesday, Rudiger has admitted that his former side have an unfamiliar look.

Rudiger told Marca: "It has changed a lot and I don't really know what to expect. It doesn't look much like the team I played for.

"I expect quality, because they are very good players, but I don't know what else we can find. It won't be an easy game, but we are Real Madrid."

During the past two seasons, Rudiger has participated in Chelsea side which have played against Real in different stages of the competition.

In 2020-21, Chelsea overcame Real in the semi-finals before they went on to see off Manchester City in the final.

However, during the last campaign, Real were able to progress from their quarter-final tie by a 5-4 aggregate scoreline, Rudiger's goal in the second leg in Spain proving to be in vain.