Sergio Ramos
has conferred his long-term future to Real Madrid by marking a new five-year contract
that will see him stay at the Bernabeu until the summer of 2020.
Madrid (translated by Eurosport) confirmed
the Spaniard's commitment following a summer of distress in the capital, during
which Ramos was connected with a move to Manchester United.
Ramos,29, previous deal
was set to expire in 2017, and it appeared his loyalty to the club had been
strained, leading United to lodge a bid of £28.6 million for his signature, according
to BBC
Sport.
Any idea of
Ramos penning new terms with the 2013-14 Champions League winners (Real Madrid)
seemed to have been precluded after Sky Sports reported he had asked for a move
to Old Trafford:
In any case
it is said that Ramos' meeting with Los Blancos president Florentino Perez during
the side's pre-season tour of China denoted a critical step in negotiations:
"Sergio and Rene (Ramos' brother and agent)
explained to Real Madrid sporting director Jose Angel Sanchez that his desire
was to retire with the club, which they then reiterated to Florentino
Perez."
The Guardian's Sid Lowe reported Ramos was expected
upon to pen an arrangement worth €9 million (£6.42 million) a year after tax,
€2 million less than what was supposedly on offer at Old Trafford.
Since his
arrival at Real in 2005, the one-time full-back has ascended to turn into one
of the world's most respected defenders and was voted fans' Man of the Match in
the 2014 Champions League final.
Speculations
of a Bernabeu exit went into overdrive taking after Real's 2-0 defeat to
Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey in January, with Goal citing Ramos as
voicing his thankfulness for the English top flight:
In any case,
Real can now feel secure in knowing their centre-back will stay in Madrid until
he is very much into his 30s.
Former
Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas was cited in May as naming Ramos as one of the
best centre-backs ever to have played before him, as indicated by Spanish daily
paper AS:
Ramos is
required to replace Casillas as club skipper (captain).
No comments:
Post a Comment