"I'm super excited for all the challenges ahead and can't to play my first games for this huge club," Rudiger wrote on Twitter.

Rudiger spent his youth career at a number of academies, including those of Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart. He made his senior debut for Stuttgart's reserves team in 2011 before becoming a regular in the first team in 2013. After four seasons in the Bundesliga, he jumped to Serie A with Roma for a pair of seasons before his move to London.

Rudiger becomes the second high-profile defender to join Real on a free in successive seasons following Austria centre-back David Alaba's move from Bayern last summer.

Internationally, Rudiger has been capped 50 times by Die Mannschaft, appearing at the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020.