Where Next for Ramos?
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As announced on the website earlier this week, Sergio Ramos is to leave Real Madrid this summer following a hugely successful period at the club.
During his 16 years of service at the Santiago Bernabéu, Ramos won everything. He picked up the Spanish league title, the Champions League, the World Club Cup, Copa del Rey, and UEFA Super Cup, plus the World Cup and European Championship with Spain.
There were rumours throughout the 2020/21 season that Ramos was not going to be offered the deal he wanted by Real Madrid and he would leave the club in the summer.
That rumour has now been confirmed and Ramos is a free agent. With that in mind, where are we likely to see Ramos playing next season and which club would benefit most from his experience?
Ramos is 35 years of age and realistically, he only has a couple of years remaining at the top of the game. However, Thiago Silva is a great example of what can be achieved by a central defender in the latter stages of his career.
The 36 year old Brazilian joined Chelsea from Paris Saint-Germain last summer and has since gone on to play in the Champions League final and lift the trophy.
That was something he failed to do during his time in the French capital and shows what is possible even having gone beyond his 35th birthday.
This may alert a couple of Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, who have long been linked with a move for another central defender this summer.
However, a partnership of Harry Maguire and Ramos is unlikely to work as they would lack the pace required to keep out the best attackers in world football.
There is no doubt the younger defenders at Old Trafford would benefit from the knowledge of Ramos, in the same way the forwards have from Edinson Cavani but Ramos and Maguire does not seem right as a partnership to lead Manchester United forward next season.
Another stumbling block in terms of a deal for Ramos will be his wage demands.
There have already been reports in the French press that Paris St. Germain have been put off by the wage demands of the Spanish international and if the Ligue 1 giants cannot afford his wages, it is unlikely many other clubs on the planet are going to be able to offer Ramos what he wants.
There have been rumours of a potential return to where it all started for Ramos in Seville. However, the four times Champions League winner would have to take a huge drop in wages to return to the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.
So, at the time of writing, it is difficult to predict where Ramos is going to be playing his football next season.
If money is a significant factor, he may choose to leave Europe behind and go and play in Asia but as Ramos still has so much to offer, it would be disappointing if he opted to leave Europe this summer.
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