Footballer Antonio Rüdiger spotted wearing a Richard Mille

Antonio Rüdiger, the German centre-back who has been a cornerstone of Real Madrid's defensive line since joining the club in 2022, was recently spotted wearing a Richard Mille RM 67-02 Sprint Van Niekerk — one of the most technically accomplished ultra-thin sport watches the Le Locle manufacture has ever produced.

Richard Mille introduced the RM 67-02 as a direct evolution of the RM 67-01, stripping the case down to an extraordinary 7.75mm in thickness and a total weight of just 32 grams. The reference houses the calibre CRMA7, a skeletonized automatic movement with a variable-geometry rotor, offering approximately 50 hours of power reserve. The case itself is constructed from Carbon TPT and Quartz TPT — proprietary layered composite materials that deliver exceptional rigidity and impact resistance while keeping mass to an absolute minimum. The Sprint Van Niekerk edition features a distinctive colorway tied to the South African sprinter's national colors, with tonal striping visible through the open dial architecture.

The RM 67-02 reference holds particular significance in the Richard Mille catalog because it represents the brand's most credible argument for athletic functionality over pure luxury signaling. Van Niekerk wore an earlier Richard Mille on his wrist when he broke the 400m world record at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and the RM 67-02 was subsequently developed to formalize that partnership. Among collectors, the Sprint edition commands attention for its limited production numbers and the genuine engineering story behind it — not merely a celebrity co-sign but a documented performance collaboration.

Rüdiger has built a reputation as one of European football's most physically dominant defenders, and his taste in watches reflects a broader pattern among elite athletes gravitating toward Richard Mille pieces that project technical seriousness rather than traditional Swiss luxury. His profile at Real Madrid — Champions League winner, Champions League finalist — gives any watch he wears significant visibility across global sports media.

The Richard Mille RM 67-02 Sprint Van Niekerk carries a retail price in the region of $300,000 USD. On the secondary market, strong demand for limited-edition athlete collaboration references from Richard Mille consistently pushes grey-market premiums above list, making this one of the more sought-after references in the current RM ecosystem.