Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos has announced that he will be leaving the club at the end of the month when his contract expires.
The veteran defender has spent over 16 years at Real Madrid winning 22 titles along the way.
During his farewell press conference, Ramos revealed he had actually tried to accept a one-year contract with reduced terms, but he says the deal was taken off the table and he was told it was ‘too late’.
Ramos sent an emotional good bye message to Real Madrid fans via Twitter saying:
“I never thought that I would arrive at this moment, but everything has a start and an end.
“Today I say goodbye to my home, my fans, my teammates and this shirt that has given me everything, that I have given everything for, for which I have left my soul. Today I say goodbye to Real Madrid.
“The gratitude and pride that I feel to look back and contemplate this journey that has lasted 16 years, I don’t know how to express the words. Twenty-two titles that I have in memory in the form of unrepeatable and indescribable emotions.
“Thank you to the club, to my teammates, the coaches that I have had, and especially, thank you to you, Madridistas.
“From my heart, thank you to everyone, for what you made possible and to all of you who accompanied me through this exciting journey.
“I am not saying goodbye, I say until then because of the return, I will return.”
The big question is where does Ramos go as he intends to keep playing football? Most people thought that Ramos would stay in Spain but the former Real Madrid and Spain captain has confirmed he will not be heading back to Sevilla, nor will he join Real Madrid’s rivals Barcelona.
“I’m not joining Sevilla, this is not even an option,” he said during his departure press conference, as transcribed by Fabrizio Romano.
“Barcelona? Impossible. You’ll never see me at Barça. I don’t know which club I’m joining yet. When I’ll know, I’ll be the first to announce it.
“It’s not time to talk about my future.”
With Barcelona and Sevilla ruled out and Atletico Madrid extremely unlikely to be an option, one thing that is clear is that Ramos looks set to leave La Liga for the first time in his career. Could he be heading to Ligue 1 and PSG?
