Real Madrid captain and club legend Sergio Ramos is set to leave the club this summer when his contract expires.
It is official. After months and months of speculations, Real Madrid have confirmed that club captain and icon Sergio Ramos will be bringing an end to his time at the Santiago Bernabeu with his contract expiring at the end of this month. The Merengues have also announced that on Thursday, an institutional act of tribute and farewell will be held for the veteran defender on Thursday.
Ramos, without a question, is one of the greatest defenders of the modern era. Having arrived at Real Madrid from Sevilla in 2005 as a young right-back, the Spaniard grew into a world-class centre-back and a leader of the pack, helping Los Blancos scale great heights year after year.
Close to 700 appearances, 101 goals (!), five La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League trophies, the list goes on and on.
Thank you for everything, Captain @SergioRamos ? pic.twitter.com/1ZSY1hnXr9
— Blancos Central (@BlancosCentral) June 16, 2021
However, after all the success and glory, Ramos will be moving on from Real Madrid this summer. It had been coming for a while now, with talks over a new deal not progressing as planned. While the defender, 35 now, was pushing for a two-year contract, the club held firm on its policy of not handing deals longer than 12 months to players over 30.
The 2020/21 campaign was not kind on Ramos either, as he missed large stretches of the campaign due to injury problems. That even led to him getting dropped from the Spain national team roster for UEFA Euro 2020. And, with the contract stand-off with Real Madrid not resolving itself, Ramos is now on his way out.
As he gets set to leave, there isn’t expected to be any shortage of suitors for the 2010 World Cup winner. While former club Sevilla are already reported to have tabled a five-year contract for the centre-back, he is also attracting plenty of interest from the Premier League, where Chelsea are looking at him while Manchester City are ready to hand him a two-year deal.
It now remains to be seen as to what the future holds for the departing Real Madrid captain. For now, we can only congratulate Ramos for all he has achieved at the Santiago Bernabeu and wish him well for the next chapter.
