Context

Challenge in question.

Now, more than a month after the incident, Diego Rico gave an interview to La Otra Grada Podcast in which he was highly critical of what happened on the field at the Bernabéu: “Do I still have to apologize to him for letting me live? Rüdiger is a very aggressive player, but at that moment he crossed the line. I can’t forgive him.”

The German center back also spoke about the incident shortly after the match at the Santiago Bernabéu. In his comments, he sought to downplay what had happened. When asked directly about the matter, the German center back acknowledged that the “slow-motion footage is terrible,” but argued that it looks much worse than “if you watch the play itself.” “I’m not going to argue with him, but I didn’t kill him. We shouldn’t exaggerate the contact, because if I went in with intent, I’d injure him,” explained the Real Madrid defender. The German also pointed out that, despite the apparent severity of the footage, he wasn’t sent off. “It was never my intention to hurt him, but I like to play hard,” he concluded during the press conference.