Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has insisted that it’s ‘impossible’ for the club to allow captain Sergio Ramos to leave on a free for China.
Speculation has been rife in recent days that the stalwart has expressed a desire to leave the Bernabeu, with Mundo Deportivo noting that Perez himself has now confirmed the offer from China.
However, he has revealed Madrid’s stance on the matter, and it doesn’t appear as though they are going to allow such an exit to materialise given how important Ramos remains to their plans moving forward.
“They simply told me that there was a very good offer from a Chinese club but that by the rules they have there they could not pay a transfer fee. It was not more than that,” he is quoted as saying by Mundo Deportivo.
“I told him that it could not happen. It’s impossible for Real Madrid to let their captain go on a free. It would set a terrible precedent.”
It’s no real surprise that Real Madrid will stand in the way of an exit for Ramos, given the 33-year-old has made over 600 appearances for the club since joining in 2005, winning a whole host of major honours including four La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies.
With plenty still left in the tank, Ramos will surely have a key role to play moving forward, and with Zinedine Zidane expected to see reinforcements arrive this summer after a bitterly disappointing campaign for the club this past year, it’s a surprise in the first place to hear Ramos linked with an exit with Real Madrid seemingly set to make several important and exciting signings this summer.
Nevertheless, based on the comments from Perez above, Ramos won’t be making the switch to China this summer at least, and so it’s expected that he will play a leading role in their pursuit of trophies again next season.
