Chelsea and Manchester City are reportedly among the clubs that have submitted a contract offer for departing Real Madrid icon Sergio Ramos this summer.
According to a report from El Chiringuito TV, former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos is a subject of interest from some of the biggest clubs in Europe, with UEFA Champions League finalists Chelsea and Manchester City tabling a contract offer for the veteran Spaniard.
Ramos’ time at Real Madrid came to an end officially on Wednesday when his contract expired. The club icon had already confirmed his impending exit earlier in June after having failed to come to an agreement over a new contract with the Merengues.
One of the greatest modern-day defenders, Ramos spent 16 years at Real Madrid, having arrived at the club from Sevilla in 2005, before going on to cement his status as a legend, as he amassed a whopping 671 appearances for Los Blancos, scoring 101 goals and setting up 40 more as well. The 35-year-old won five La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League trophies during his stay, among various other accolades.
Now, available on a free transfer, Ramos is not short on suitors for his services. Indeed, the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City are said to have tabled contract offers for the Spanish international, as have Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
Chelsea are in the market for a new centre-back this summer after seeing Fikayo Tomori depart the club permanently to sign for AC Milan. Furthermore, with Thiago Silva set to turn 37 in a few months, a replacement for the Brazilian is sought at Stamford Bridge as Thomas Tuchel & co. look to manage his game-time better.
Ramos, to that end, may appear as a solution, but only for a short time, given as he, too, is 35 years old and did endure a difficult, injury-riddled last season with Real Madrid. Nonetheless, the value of his experience and know-how could be of huge benefit to Chelsea, or any other team for that matter, which is why Manchester City are also looking to sign him, despite having plenty of options in defence.
Indeed, Pep Guardiola can already call upon John Stones, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake in the centre-back positions, while Kyle Walker has also shown that he can do the job if necessary. Nevertheless, with Eric Garcia having departed and there being question marks over Laporte’s future, a move for Ramos, even if it is a stop-gap one, would make sense, especially as they push for the elusive UCL trophy.
Furthermore, both Bayern Munich and PSG have also tabled contract offers for Ramos, with the former looking to replace the departed Jerome Boateng while the latter never really brought in anyone to fill the hole left behind by Thiago Silva’s exit last year. So, it now remains to be seen who Ramos chooses as his next club with curtains falling on his time at Real Madrid.
