The Sergio Ramos story took another twist on Wednesday as the Real Madrid defender and his agent René Ramos met with Real general director José Ángel Sánchez and told him that he wants to leave the Spanish giants this summer.
It has been reported that Manchester United have lodged an opening bid of £35 million for the center half and that the Real Madrid defender has asked his club to consider it.
The opening bid is understood to be independent of David de Gea’s move in the opposite direction but it is clear United will now use their interest in Ramos to come to an agreement over the sale of their goalkeeper.
Earlier Pedro Riesco, who works alongside the player’s brother and agent Rene, suggested Ramos’s departure was almost inevitable. Riesco told Radio Marca:
‘With everything that has happened it will be very difficult for Sergio Ramos to stay at Madrid.’
‘Sergio is a symbol of this club. He has nothing to prove. But so many things are being said about him.
‘There is so much manipulation to discredit his name via spokesmen who behave like puppets saying he is not respecting the club and that he is just a money-grabber.
It is interesting to read the headlines this week in MARCA, which has close ties to the Real Madrid. A sampling of those headlines are:
- Real won’t be held to ransom by Ramos
- Florentino and Ramos, worlds apart
- Mission Impossible III
- Ramos vs Real in numbers
It is clear that Real are using MARCA to set the fans up for a Ramos sale. That he is being painted as the bad guy in this situation, with Real president Florentino Perez hapless to do anything about a player who wants more than “he is worth”.
I wonder what this does for David De Gea? His arrival at Real will see the departure of club legend Iker Casillas, whose presence looms large over the club. But the second biggest Spanish player in the team that plays in the Spanish capital k=is Sergio Ramos.
If Ramos is sold as part of any De Gea deal, then the Manchester United goalkeeper is walking into a situation where he is replacing the two biggest Spanish faces at the club.
That is not something that will resonate well with a large portion of the Santiago Bernabéu faithful.
