Real Madrid: Grading every center back from the 2020-2021 season

Now that the 2020-2021 season has come to its full conclusion, it’s time to take a look back at all the individual performances from the campaign. Real Madrid did not achieve their goal of winning a trophy, but they fought hard until the very end and completed a successful season despite making no summer signings while also navigating a ridiculous amount of injuries.

Let’s take a look back at how all the center backs did this season. Los Blancos were hit hard by injuries at this position, yet many players stepped up so that Zinedine Zidane’s solid defense would not miss a beat.

CB Sergio Ramos

Sergio Ramos only played in 15 matches in La Liga this season and a handful in the Champions League, as he suffered from multiple injuries, starting with the one in January against Osasuna. So in that respect, it has not been a banner year for the captain, who has also had to deal with numerous questions about a contract extension he has yet to sign.

However, when he was on the pitch, Ramos’ quality was not in question. He was the best center back on the planet at helping his team in the build-up play, completing about 92 percent of his 73.5 pass attempts per game in league play, including 7.6 long ball attempts per game, according to WhoScored.com. And you could scarcely spot any mistakes defensively.

Ramos was instrumental in Real Madrid’s title triumph last season, and you can’t help but wonder if Real’s draws against Real Betis and Getafe, for example, would have been wins with Ramos’ goal-scoring factor on the pitch.

He was missed in the second half of the season, there’s no question about it.

Rating: 8.0