If last summer someone had told you that the Spanish media will be busy in January with a break in the future of the captain of one of the top teams in La Liga, who may leave on a free transfer at the end of the season, it is highly doubtful that your immediate suspect was Sergio Ramos and not Leo Messi. But after a year like the one we went through, it’s hard to be surprised.
Just a few months have passed since Real Madrid’s 34th championship celebrations, so Ramos and Florentino Perez have stated they want to continue the relationship until death, or at least until the captain’s sporting death. But desires aside and reality aside, and with less than six months left until the end of the contract, it is still unclear where the negotiations between the parties really stand. At the moment it is conducted mostly in the media, through court journalists, associates, and even family members.
It’s hard to blame the old brake. Kissing at the age of 35, it is also clear to Ramos that this is probably the last contract of his glorious career. And alongside the fact that it is one of the greatest symbols of Real Madrid in the 21st century, with quite a few moments entering its history books, the team has also shown this season its dependence on it. And he, for his part, wants to see this reflected in the bank account, and in the contract for at least two years.
As for Real Madrid, if the last year has already been mentioned in the opening, there is no doubt that it also has a big part in the entanglement between Ramos and the Spanish champions. As is well known, no club remains immune to the economic damage caused by the Corona plague, and after cutting about a third of the budget, and these days trying to conclude another 10% cut in player salaries, the club refuses to go wild, even if it is a single contract.
Ramos currently earns about 12 million euros a year, and due to the situation, the club does not intend to offer him more than this amount for another year, although according to several reports, two years are also possible if he agrees to cut his salary like all players. And if you’re wondering why only a 10% cut is so significant for the club, try to imagine a scenario where the whole staff finds out that after cutting his salary, the captain should not have done it.
And when it comes to negotiating such sums, everything seems to be kosher. Reports of luxury clubs’ interest in the brake, reports of significant progress in the club’s negotiations with David Alaba, a leak of a conversation in which the brake declared to Paris Saint-Germain wants to build a team With him and with Leo Messi, and Peres’ answer that he does not believe such an offer exists, and that if so, the door is open.
And the fans? It seems to them that one of the moments that broke the tools was last week when the brother and agent, Rene Ramos, shared a tweet on Twitter that visited and attacked the club for procrastinating and renewing the contract (remember the yard journalist and family members?). In response, he responded with quite a few curses and rage from fans, who did not really like to see an act that looked like extortion of their club.
This is also reflected in the “Marca” polls published this week. 76% of the fans have sided with the club, and think the captain should consider the situation, compared to 24% who think he deserves any amount he will require. In addition, after seeing players like Raul, Iker Casillas and Cristiano Ronaldo leave the club in the last decade, 75% are not excited and think everyone has a replacement, compared to only 25% who think Ramos is exceptional in this case.
#LaPortada “Free play in Madrid” 🗞️ pic.twitter.com/T561mADHIt
– MARCA (@marca) May 30, 2019
Many of those fans are posting on social media a quote from May 2019, in which Ramos declares: “I will play for Real Madrid for free”, to show that the paper remembers everything. Then, as I recall, there were reports that Ramos was holding an astronomical offer from China, demanding a free release from the group, a request that was of course rejected outright. In response, the captain convened a press conference at which he declared his great relationship with Peres and his commitment to the club.
Even then it was not the first time that Ramos’s talks with Real Madrid regarding the extension of the contract looked like this, and even during the previous decade we have witnessed media headlines about the departure of the brake, an astronomical offer coming from a club like Manchester United, or another remark by brother Rene. People, which brings us to the central point.
Manchester United make € 45m offer for Sergio Ramos; Real Madrid still want € 90m for defender http://t.co/55T02CPdKQ pic.twitter.com/rp5yd8OXV9
– AS English (@English_AS) July 15, 2015
It is inevitable that the greatest interest of both parties is to continue the relationship. On the captain’s side, even if another team offers him a fatter contract (which is not happening at the moment), at no other club will he get anything close to the power and influence he has in the Spanish champions, even if it will give material for another season in the series on Amazon. In addition, it is hard to believe that his wife, TV star Pilar Rubio, would refuse to leave Spain so easily.
On the part of Real Madrid, even if they manage to get an equally good defensive output, and even more, from Pau Tours and David Alaba, its added value to the locker room is hard to measure in statistics, in addition to the fact that the club will not want to lose another icon. And if both sides need another incentive, they can take a look at Turin, where a player is found who left Spain for financial reasons but did not really manage to fulfill himself, and on the other hand, left a huge void in the team he left.
How will it end? If you ask the fans, 37% think the breakup is imminent, 34% believe the contract will be renewed for another year, and only 29% believe Ramos will get what he wants in the form of a two-year contract. So will the parties be able to reach a compromise, or will the corona crisis take another toll? It seems to depend on who you ask, but do not be surprised if it ends in another press conference and bombastic statements.