Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos never even got a chance to face his old employers again. The PSG center back missed both legs of the Champions League Round of 16, as he watched his current club, PSG, underestimate their “new rivals” and fall victim to a fabled Champions League Remontada at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Emotionally, Ramos’ departure hit Madridistas hard. There is no doubt about that. Ramos gave so much to Real, including unforgettable moments like 92:48.
But economically and sporting-wise, Madridistas have to admit that Florentino Perez made the right decision. At the time, seeing Ramos – and then Raphael Varane – leave the club hurt. Yet David Alaba and Eder Militao have both been better than those two club legends this season, which says a lot about the quality these men are providing.
Alaba and Militao kept Los Blancos in the tie in the first leg, as they only lost 1-0 despite being horribly outplayed and outcoached. In the second leg, they were just as good, reading the game exquisitely and more than making up for Casemiro’s absence in the defensive midfield.
Aside from Alaba’s and Miltiao’s excellence in central defense, there is another, more overlooked reason why Real Madrid were correct for letting Sergio Ramos go and sign hefty wages with PSG.
I will let one of our readers, Camila, take the floor and share a tweet they sent us in response to us after the 3-1 win vs. PSG.
Yes, I know. It's Florentino ruthless at times working in our favour again.
— Camila (@CamilaCastilhos) March 9, 2022
Other clubs would give a legend like Ramos the huge contract that he (and his brother) wanted, but Perez knows honoring a Real Madrid legend is even letting them go as a player to stay as a legend.
Sergio Ramos’ legacy would have been damaged at Real Madrid this season
This is very well-said. Florentino Perez’s calculating nature may seem cold, but his ruthlessness doesn’t just keep Real Madrid competitive year after year (and financially stable enough to sign superstars like Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland). His ruthlessness also spares fans from turning on players, and when he loses that ruthless streak, as he did with Gareth Bale a few years ago, we see the consequences.
Ramos was fantastic in 2020/21 before his injuries, but it was clear to those behind the scenes that the center back would not be the same after pushing through the pain in the second half of the season. Meanwhile, Perez saw that Militao was playing at an even higher level than Varane and Ramos in the same side that season in even bigger games, while he knew Alaba was a great opportunity as a younger player with more versatility and a less extensive injury history.
So he put his faith in Militao, sold Varane to try and get enough money to bid for a game-changer in Mbappe (whoops! he’s getting him for free!), and went after Alaba.
Now, he did try to keep Ramos, but at HIS price. Ramos’ agent balked and wanted more money, waited too long, and Perez stuck with the sure thing in Alaba. Ruthless to a club legend? Yes. But look at it this way…
Alaba has been amazing. He is another leader who makes everyone around him better, gets tough with the opposition, and contributes immensely to the build-up play. Alaba fits Real Madrid perfectly. It is like he has worn the No. 4 for years.
Meanwhile, Ramos is struggling to stay healthy. He barely plays for PSG. Even they are not hiding that they feel signing him was a mistake. They may even try to get rid of him this summer, just one year after signing him.
Could you imagine the friction that would have caused if Ramos were at Real Madrid this season? Fans would be divided over him, with some attacking him and others defending him. Ramos vs. Militao or even Ramos vs. Nacho/Alaba would be debates. The situation would get ugly and make Eden Hazard’s tough spot look paradisical.
Want your voice heard? Join the The Real Champs team!
So Perez made the right decision indeed. Not just for the sake of the club, but even for Ramos’s sake. Ramos gets to make money from PSG without too much drama, while his Real Madrid legacy remains 100 percent intact as one of the greatest players and THE greatest center back (even above the wonderful Fernando Hierro) in club history. That matters, too.