Sergio Ramos could be braced for summer exit from Real Madrid following a clash with club president Florentino Perez in the dressing room this week.
According to a report by Spanish publication MARCA, Florentino Perez has threatened to offload Sergio Ramos following a clash between the pair in the aftermath of Real Madrid’s elimination from the UEFA Champions League. The club president blamed the players for the shock result, while the Spaniard blamed Perez for poor recruitment last summer.
Sergio Ramos has gone on to become one of the most polarizing figures in world football since joining Real Madrid from boyhood club Sevilla in the summer of 2005. Nearly fourteen years later, the Spaniard has gone on to become a legend for both club and country, having won a staggering 23 trophies in his storied career so far.
On an individual level, he has won a number of honours as well, and is one of just two players to have scored at least one La Liga goal in 15 consecutive season – a truly astounding achievement for a centre-back. His impressive performances and accomplishments over the last decade and a half have rightly seen him being regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation.
But, the 2018-19 season has been one to forget, for both Ramos and Real Madrid. The European champions have gone through a spectacular fall from grace, having struggled to challenge Barcelona for the La Liga title, with their latest El Clasico defeat last week ending the remaining hopes of a title tilt for good.
Things have gone from bad to worse this week, with Los Blancos being unceremoniously dumped out from the UEFA Champions League at the Last 16 stage by Ajax, after shockingly losing 4-1 at home. While Ramos missed the game due to suspension, his decision to intentionally get booked in the first leg came back to haunt him and Real big time.
In the aftermath of the embarrassing defeat, tensions seemed to have boiled over, with the report suggesting that Ramos clashed with Florentino Perez. The Real Madrid president opined that the players were solely to blame for the elimination from the premier European club competition.
Ramos though, retorted by saying that the players were not the only ones to blame, saying that Perez too should be accountable for failing to reinforce attack following the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo last summer. Following this, Perez threatened to sack the club captain. The Real Madrid captain finally replied by saying that the rest of his contract would need to be paid and that he’d leave with his head held high.
Indeed, the struggles in the wake of Ronaldo’s departure have been well documented, with club legends like Fernando Redondo also having their say on the topic. But, the best of players have also been unable to display top form consistently, which has hurt the La Liga heavyweights to no end.
Thus, on their part, both are correct, and it would be in Real’s best interest for Perez and Ramos to sort their differences out, considering the player’s influence in the dressing room. As far as an exit from the club is concerned, it looks like an unlikely prospect at the moment.
