Rudi, as he is known in the Real Madrid dressing room, talked about several aspects, including the one Real Madrid player he looked upto while growing up. Speaking of the legendary Real Madrid defender, Pepe, the German international said,
“Pepe was my big role model at Real Madrid, as I always wanted to be like him. I used to watch videos of him straddling his opponents.
“I was still young and wanted to show everyone that I can be tough too. That was in my head. Crazy how good Pepe was. Not only in a duel, but also in the game structure.
“Today, however, everyone at Real tells me that he was actually a very calm character off the pitch. And guess what? He was the only player I ever waited an hour to get his jersey for.”
“Pepe, Sergio Ramos and Thiago Silva are the three player names I’m most proud of in my kit collection. Absolute legends,” he added.