Bayern sell Rudy to Schalke after one season

Bayern Munich midfielder Sebastian Rudy has left the club after just one season to sign for Schalke.

Rudy, 28, joined Bayern last summer on a free transfer from Hoffenheim but failed to nail down a regular starting spot, first under Carlo Ancelotti and then his successor, Jupp Heynckes.

He made 34 appearances in all competitions with 14 as a substitute and had not featured this season under new coach Niko Kovac, who said last week he was “free to leave.”

Rudy has made 26 international appearances and was part of the Germany squad that exited the World Cup at the group stage in June.

Bayern have already added Germany international Leon Goretzka to their midfield over the summer, and Javi Martinez, Corentin Tolisso, James Rodriguez, Thomas Muller, Renato Sanches and Thiago Alcantara were also among Rudy’s competition.

Chile international Arturo Vidal was offloaded to Barcelona earlier this month.

RB Leipzig were reported last week to be the front-runners to sign Rudy, but their coach, Ralf Rangnick,

denied that the transfer was complete and said it was “the mother of all fake news in football.”

✍️ OFFICIAL: Sebastian #Rudy moves to Gelsenkirchen from @FCBayernEN on a four–year deal ⚒️ #S04 pic.twitter.com/7LlLUy52aE

— FC Schalke 04 (@s04_en) August 27, 2018