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Pep Guardiola responded with a kiss: Antonio Rüdiger causes a stir at Real Madrid once again with a bizarre incident

Following Real Madrid’s resounding victory over Manchester City in the Champions League, Antonio Rüdiger was once again in the spotlight. After the final whistle, he had a curious skirmish with Pep Guardiola.

Whilst the usual post-match exchange took place between the two teams following Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory, with most of the players congratulating one another, Rüdiger clearly felt the need to clear the air. As Guardiola shook hands with several Real Madrid players, including Dean Huijsen, Federico Valverde and Vinicius Junior, the Germany international suddenly appeared in front of him.

Strange scenes ensued. Rüdiger and Guardiola initially shook hands as well, before the centre-back moved quite close to the City manager. Just as Guardiola was about to turn away, Rüdiger continued to hold his hand.
Guardiola’s friendly smile vanished, prompting a brief exchange of words. No details of the conversation are available. However, the events that followed suggest that it was certainly of a serious nature. First, Nathan Ake pushed Rüdiger away with a gentle nudge, before Real coach Alvaro Arbeloa also intervened and gestured emphatically to move his player away from Guardiola.
As Rüdiger looked back at Guardiola once more, he held his hand over his mouth. The former Bayern Munich manager walked away, grimacing slightly and blowing a kiss in his direction.

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This isn’t the first time Rüdiger has attracted negative attention
Rüdiger is thus once again at the centre of attention for reasons unrelated to the game itself. Only recently, Diego Rico of Getafe accused him, following a controversial foul, of deliberately trying to hurt him. In his view, Rüdiger had tried to “smash his face in”. Rüdiger, however, firmly rejected the allegations on Monday: “If I’d fouled him on purpose, I would have injured him. I spoke to him after the match. You can’t just look at a single frame. I like to play hard. But I have limits that I don’t cross. That’s why I think the comments were a bit over the top.”
In April 2025, Rüdiger had also made negative headlines when, during the Copa del Rey final against FC Barcelona, he threw a roll of tape at the referee and insulted the official. He was handed a six-match ban by the Spanish Football Federation. A debate ensued, prompting Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann to issue a statement. "The limit has been reached. He shouldn’t allow himself to go any further, otherwise there will be more serious consequences," he said at the time.
Will Rüdiger return to the German national team?
Meanwhile, all eyes are on whether Rüdiger will return to the German national team this coming Thursday. The long-serving defensive stalwart missed the last two training camps due to a thigh injury. In his much-discussed interview with *kicker*, Nagelsmann also left open the question of whether he would select Rüdiger for the crucial friendlies against Switzerland and Ghana at the end of March.
Nagelsmann emphasised that Rüdiger’s physical condition will ultimately be the deciding factor: “Antonio has to be 100 per cent fit and healthy. If he has niggles, which he’s had from time to time with us too, he won’t reach his performance limit, and that doesn’t make sense. But he’s well on the way.”
Following his knee injury in January, Rüdiger has been a regular in Real’s starting line-up again since mid-February. He played the full 90 minutes in both matches against Man City.