Laura Rüdiger: Antonio Rüdiger's Wife and Their Children

Antonio Rüdiger is married, and German media name his wife as Laura Rüdiger. In November 2026, Rüdiger is a 33-year-old Real Madrid centre-back under contract until 30 June 2027, and he retired from the Germany national team in September 2026, after the World Cup. The couple have two children, a son born in 2020 and a daughter born in 2021.

Laura herself is one of the least visible partners of any top footballer. She has no known public social media account, we could not find an interview she has given, and almost everything published about her beyond her first name is unconfirmed. In this guide, OhMyFootball separates what is documented about Antonio Rüdiger's wife from what is only repeated online, and brings the story up to date for November 2026.

Who is Antonio Rüdiger's wife?

Antonio Rüdiger's wife is called Laura, according to German outlets such as TV Movie, Joyn, news.de and watson, and German Wikipedia. Rüdiger himself has confirmed that he is married. In an interview with SPORT1 in April 2023, during his first season in Madrid, he said that his children go to school in Spain and are very happy, and that his wife is happy too.

Is "Laura" really her name? It is the name used consistently by the German press, but Rüdiger has not named her in any post or interview we could find. A handful of English-language websites give completely different names, with no source at all, and the sports site Sports Brief wrote in 2023 that a Daily Mail report gave her name as Lauren, a report we could not trace. On the evidence available, Laura is the best-supported name, and the other names should be treated as unreliable.

When did they get married? TV Movie and Joyn say the couple married in 2019, and Joyn places the wedding in the summer of 2019. We could not find an exact date or any photo of the wedding; the German regional site Heidelberg24 says only that it took place at an upscale restaurant in Berlin. We also found no reliable account of how and when Antonio and Laura met. Some websites claim they started dating during his years at VfB Stuttgart, but we found no reliable source for that.

Laura was with him on one of the biggest days of his career. When Real Madrid presented Rüdiger at the Ciudad Real Madrid on 20 June 2022, he was accompanied by his parents, his brother, his wife and their two children, according to the report on the event by the Ecuadorian broadcaster Teleamazonas. The video above is Real Madrid's own behind-the-scenes film of that presentation day, from the medical and the contract signing to his first steps in the white shirt.

Who is Laura Rüdiger?

Football fans know Laura Rüdiger as Antonio Rüdiger's wife and the mother of his two children. She has followed him from London, where he played for Chelsea from 2017 to 2022, to Madrid, where the family has lived since he joined Real Madrid in 2022.

Joyn describes her as probably the most private player's wife in the Germany squad of 2026, and TV Movie writes that there are almost no pictures of the couple, not even on social media. TV Movie also says she supports her husband from the stands at important matches and tournaments. What she does not do is talk to the press or share her life online.

Laura Rüdiger age and birthday

Laura Rüdiger's date of birth has never been published, so her age, birthday and zodiac sign are not known. Some websites give 1993 as her year of birth, the same year as Antonio, and Joyn traces that claim to a fan account on Instagram. Joyn itself points out that not even her year of birth is confirmed.

Antonio Rüdiger was born on 3 March 1993 in Berlin, so he turned 33 in March 2026.

Laura Rüdiger nationality and family background

Laura is often described online as German, but we did not find a reliable source that confirms where she was born or grew up. Her parents and any siblings have never been named by a reputable outlet.

Antonio's own family story is well documented. His mother, Lily, comes from Sierra Leone and fled the civil war there to Germany, and his father, Matthias Rüdiger, is German. Antonio holds both German and Sierra Leonean citizenship, and he grew up in Neukölln, in Berlin, with four sisters and his half-brother, Sahr Senesie. Sahr, eight years older, was a professional footballer himself and has advised Antonio on his career for years. Fun fact: his father named him after the Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, a story Rüdiger told the Spanish magazine Líbero in 2023.

Laura Rüdiger education and career

Laura Rüdiger's education and job have never been documented by a reliable source. Joyn lists her profession as unknown and adds that she was probably a former handball player, while admitting it is not clear whether she ever played professionally. Her maiden name has never been published, so the claim cannot be checked against handball records, and the many websites describing her as a handball star, an athlete, a physiotherapist or a fashion designer contradict each other and cite nothing.

Laura Rüdiger and Antonio Rüdiger's children

How many children does Antonio Rüdiger have? Antonio and Laura have two children, a son and a daughter, and Antonio announced both births himself on social media.

Their son, Djamal Sahr Rüdiger, was born in February 2020, while Antonio was playing for Chelsea. His middle name, Sahr, is also the first name of Antonio's half-brother. Antonio introduced him to his followers with these words:

That feeling of being a father for the first time is just incredible. Welcome to the world, Djamal Sahr Rüdiger

— Antonio Rüdiger

That post, published on 22 February 2020, shows a newborn's tiny hand holding Antonio's finger. In April 2021, he shared a sunny moment by the water in London, carrying his son on his arm, with the caption "Quality time with King Djamal".

Their daughter, Aaliyah Trophy Rüdiger, was born in early June 2021, just days after Rüdiger won the Champions League with Chelsea in the final against Manchester City in Porto on 29 May 2021. Her unusual middle name is a nod to that timing: in his announcement on 2 June 2021, Antonio called her his biggest "Trophy" and wrote that he was a proud dad for the second time.

Joyn gives the children's birth dates as 22 February 2020 and 2 June 2021, which would make Djamal 6 and Aaliyah 5 in November 2026. According to Rüdiger in 2023, the children go to school in Madrid.

Laura Rüdiger does not have a known public Instagram, Facebook or X account, and any profile using her name should be treated with caution. Antonio is on Instagram as @toniruediger, where the embed of his posts showed about 13 million followers in November 2026. He shares moments with his children there, but he protects them: in a post on 31 December 2020, tagged #proudDad, his son's face is covered by a heart emoji. TV Movie notes that when family members do appear in his posts, they are usually pixelated.

Are there photos of Laura Rüdiger?

Searches for "Rudiger wife photo" rarely lead anywhere reliable. We could not find a published photo in which Laura is clearly identified, and pictures labelled with her name on some websites cannot be verified. For the same reason, claims about her height, weight, hair colour or tattoos have no source, and we have left them out.

Who is Antonio Rüdiger?

Antonio Rüdiger is a German centre-back, born on 3 March 1993 in Berlin. He came through the youth teams of Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart and became one of the most physical and outspoken defenders in Europe. He has spoken often about racism in football, and he is a practising Muslim.

His career so far:

2012 to 2015: VfB Stuttgart, where he broke into the Bundesliga
2015 to 2017: AS Roma, first on loan and then on a permanent deal
2017 to 2022: Chelsea, winning the FA Cup in 2018, the Europa League in 2019, and the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup in 2021
2022 onwards: Real Madrid, joining on a free transfer and winning the Copa del Rey in 2023, then La Liga and the Champions League in 2024
June 2026: Real Madrid announce a one-year extension, keeping him at the club until 30 June 2027
September 2026: retires from international football after 86 caps for Germany

For Germany, Rüdiger made his debut in May 2014 against Poland and won the 2017 Confederations Cup. He played at three World Cups and two European Championships. At the 2026 World Cup, he was named in Julian Nagelsmann's squad in May 2026, and he started the round of 32 against Paraguay, which Germany lost on penalties after a 1-1 draw. On 1 September 2026, he announced on Instagram that the time had come to end his international career and make way for the younger generation. Jürgen Klopp, the new Germany coach, will build his defence without him.

Away from the pitch, Rüdiger is deeply involved in Sierra Leone, his mother's home country. In January 2020 he donated $100,000 towards free education there, according to Africanews, and in January 2022 he launched the Antonio Rüdiger Foundation, which supports schools. The same month, Sierra Leone's president made him the country's football ambassador. In May 2026 he was named in UNHCR's Gamechanging Team of footballers with a refugee or displacement background, and in June he told The Guardian about growing up among refugee families in Neukölln.

For more German and Real Madrid families, read about Toni Kroos and his wife Jessica, Rüdiger's former teammate for club and country, and Kai Havertz and Sophia Weber. For the details of his new deal, see Real Madrid's extension of Rüdiger's contract.

Laura Rüdiger net worth

Laura Rüdiger's personal net worth is not publicly known, and the figures published online have no reliable basis, because her job has never been confirmed.

Antonio Rüdiger has earned a top-level salary at Chelsea and Real Madrid, but the club did not disclose the financial terms of his 2026 extension, and the net worth estimates found online vary widely. We prefer not to repeat a guessed figure.

Quick facts about Laura Rüdiger

Name: Laura Rüdiger, according to German media
Husband: Antonio Rüdiger, Real Madrid centre-back, former Germany international
Married: reported in 2019 (summer 2019 according to Joyn)
Children: son Djamal Sahr (born February 2020) and daughter Aaliyah Trophy (born June 2021)
Age: not public; a birth year of 1993 is unconfirmed
Job: not confirmed
Social media: no known public account

Frequently asked questions about Rüdiger's wife

Who is Antonio Rüdiger's wife?

Antonio Rüdiger's wife is named Laura in German media. She is a private person who stays out of the public eye.

Is Antonio Rüdiger married?

Yes. Rüdiger referred to his wife in a 2023 interview with SPORT1, and she attended his Real Madrid presentation in June 2022. German media report that they married in 2019.

How old is Laura Rüdiger?

Her age is not public. Some websites say she was born in 1993, like Antonio, but even German outlets that cover her say her year of birth is not confirmed.

Does Antonio Rüdiger have children?

Yes, two. His son Djamal Sahr was born in February 2020, and his daughter Aaliyah Trophy was born in June 2021, days after he won the Champions League with Chelsea.