Spanish international, Sergio Ramos is currently in his ninth season at the Bernabeu; he is a former youth product of Sevilla before making the switch to Real Madrid in the summer of 2005 for around €27 million. Although primarily a centre-back, he has often been deployed at right-back to good effect and has helped lead the Spanish club to three league titles.
However, his loyalty is set to count for nothing with reports linking the 27-year-old with an exit to the English Premier League in 2014. According to the Daily Mail, Ramos will be made available to Chelsea and Manchester City next summer as relations with Perez and Ancelotti have deteriorated beyond repair.
The Spaniard was sent off for the 17th time in his Real Madrid career during the club’s 4-1 demolition of Galatasaray in the Champions League group stages recently. No Madrid player has been sent off more times than Ramos, and he was given his marching orders after bringing down Umut Bulut, who was through on goal.
Ancelotti was livid with Ramos and was visibly making his feelings known to the defender as he trudged off the pitch on 25 minutes with the scores level at 0-0. The Italian was heard on camera saying “te come la espalda” which means he ate your back, implying that Ramos allowed him to come on his wrong side and get the better of him.
Before Ancelotti’s issues with Ramos, who is his third-choice centre-back behind Pepe and Varane, Ramos fell out with Perez. After the world-record signing of Gareth Bale, Ramos asked for a pay-rise with Perez reluctant to bow down to his wishes.
Chelsea and Man City are closely monitoring the situation with both expected to bid next summer. Both Mourinho and Pellegrini have worked with Ramos before at Madrid and both are keen on recruiting a new central defender.