WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina \u2013 Germany defender Antonio Rudiger is happy being cast as the villain \u2060amid criticism of his on-pitch behavior and said on Wednesday that controversy generates clicks and any publicity was good publicity.<\/p>\n
Rudiger, who earned a one-year contract extension at Real Madrid on Tuesday, has often found himself in the spotlight for his aggressive play, provoking \u200bopponents or showing dissent.<\/p>\n
He said he respected any serious criticism but said people \u200coften \u200cexaggerated his behavior in order to turn him into a boogeyman.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst \u200bof all I respect opinions,\u201d Rudiger told a news conference. \u201cI take them seriously, and I have apologized (in the past) for these things. But there is not \u2060much to be said. Serious criticism is always welcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut one has to ask oneself when you \u2060hear so much, it generates clicks when you talk about social media. I see something positive there. Because my name gets a lot \u200bof clicks. I can\u2019t explain \u2060it. Sometimes bad press is good press.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rudiger has been at the heart of several controversies over the years for both \u2060club and country, \u200bincluding getting a six-match ban for throwing an object at \u200bthe referee in the 2025 Copa del Rey final in Spain, \u200bwhich earned \u200chim sharp criticism from Germany\u2019s national team director Rudi Voeller.<\/p>\n
He also seemed to taunt Japan\u2019s players during a 2022 World Cup group-stage match when he chased down a ball with a comical high-knee sprint that many pundits \u200cbranded as arrogant and disrespectful.<\/p>\n
The defender has lost his starting spot in the Germany backline to Jonathan Tah in recent months but is comfortable with his role as a substitute as the Germans prepare to face Cote d\u2019Ivoirein their second World Cup Group \u200bE \u200bmatch on Saturday.<\/p>\n
They opened their campaign with a 7-1 demolition \u200bof Curacao earlier this week.<\/p>\n
Asked whether tough players in Spain like Sergio Ramos or \u2060Portugal\u2019s Pepe were treated differently than players with those characteristics in Germany, Rudiger said he felt he was at times singled out on social media for his actions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know really,\u201d Rudiger said. \u201cFor me, in the social media \u200bworld I am the boogeyman, again. In Spain actions are more celebrated. There were so many games where I had great sliding tackles and there were groups of fans who chanted my name. Let social media be social media and we stay in the real world.\u201c\u00a0<\/p>\n
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