Sergio Ramos and Florentino Perez clashed in an angry exchange after Real Madrid’s humiliating defeat by Ajax on Tuesday with the captain telling his president: ‘Pay me up and I’ll leave’.
The story broken by Diario AS in Spain and confirmed by Sportsmail, suggests the aftershock of Madrid’s defeat by Ajax are still being felt.
It comes amid suggestions that Florentino Perez is meeting with his right-hand man Jose Angel Sanchez to rethink the decision made on Tuesday night not to fire Santiago Solari.
The atmosphere at the club is understood to be unsustainable, and the bad feeling between president and captain could strengthen Jose Mourinho’s chances of landing the job full time this summer.
Perez had gone down to the dressing room on Tuesday night to rollick the players post 4-1 defeat. According to Diario AS he criticised their behaviour, lack of dedication, too many days off, and described them as ’embarrassing’.
When Ramos intervened in defence of the squad and blaming the president’s bad planning for the poor season, Perez told him he would ‘get rid of him’ to which the club captain replied: ‘You pay me and I’ll go’.
The 32-year-old Ramos is on a big contract at Madrid believed to be around £9.4million a season until 2021.
He has spoken out against the idea of the club rehiring Mourinho as first-team coach. Mourinho is seen as a viable alternative by Perez.
That matter, and their disagreement over the apportionment of blame for Madrid’s disastrous season, has reopened old wounds between the two.
They fell out in 2015 and Ramos courted Manchester United who bid for the defender believing they were on the verge of a transfer coup. Ramos eventually signed a new deal.
Bad feeling between Ramos and his president will strengthen Mourinho’s chances of getting the job if it leads Perez to believing he needs a strong manager who can take on dressing room heavyweights.
Will Ramos still be at Real Madrid next season or will he be forced out? And if he is, where will the Real Madrid legend go?
