Ramos is silent

He did not reach the duel against Osasuna in the League last Saturday in Valdebebas, but Sergio Ramos did sign up for the Champions League semi-final return against Chelsea this Wednesday at Stamford Bridge. After completing several training sessions with the group, he got on the plane on Tuesday and is expected to be a starter in the center of Madrid's rear, accompanied by Militao. But there was no news of him in the press conference prior to the game, and that is news.

Over the years, Sergio Ramos has often shown his face before these decisive meetings in Europe., in which UEFA requires that a player from each team appear, in addition to the coaches (before the finals, there are usually two per squad). He did so before the return to the semifinals of the 2017-18 Champions League, against Juventus; also, before the first leg of the round of 16 against City last year; in the semifinal round of 2012-13, against Borussia, there was Sergio; and in the finals, like in Lisbon or Cardiff before facing Atlético or Juventus, for example.

It is not a role that is alien to Ramos; What's more, he feels comfortable serving as a spokesperson for the team and has highlighted this more than once. However, it was striking that he did not appear before Chelsea-Madrid on Wednesday to analyze what could be his last Champions League match with the white shirt. Precisely, that's where the shots go: Ramos is aware that the questions at this moment in a press conference in which he participates, even in a meeting of this stature, would revolve in a very high percentage around its renewal. A matter that, for the moment, he does not want to discuss.

It was already clear in the presentation of his documentary with Amazon, in whose press conference, filtered through the moderator who read the questions from the media, all those questions that dealt with the renewal of his contract with Real Madrid, which ends on June 30, were censored. At the end of the act, to cover the file, Ramos commented that “there is no news; when there is, I will be the first to say it.” Later, in an interview with Ibai Llanos on Twitch, he delved into that message.

However, this press conference prior to Chelsea-Madrid, in which the player designated to speak to the media was Toni Kroos, was a golden opportunity for Ramos to put the cards on the table after Florentino Pérez did the same recently in his round of interviews to comment on the frustrated initiative of the European Super League. In these interviews, the white president slipped that Ramos had not lowered his salary this year as other colleagues have done and that an effort is necessary by the captain so that he can continue in white.

Ramos, Florentino, the years and the salary

The circumstances, moreover, are not helping him: he has lost a large part of the last months of competition, in which Madrid has reached its best level, and it has been seen that the team can function under other names, such as Varane, Nacho and Militao. The Frenchman, without going any further, also has an uncertain future ahead of him (it is likely that he will be transferred) and that did not prevent him from appearing before the Madrid-Chelsea match in the first leg, in which he did not give many clues: “My future is clear … “. And to all this it should be added that Madrid has already closed, pending official announcement, the free arrival of David Alaba, who leaves Bayern for free and who can play as a central defender, as a winger and as a midfielder.

Less than two months after finalizing his contract with Madrid, the negotiations remain at a standstill. Ramos wants at least two seasons to continue in white, while the club is committed to renewing year after year since he already exceeds 35. The issue of the salary cut will not be a problem if Madrid extends its offer to two seasons, but Florentino was little optimistic when asked about the matter in 'El Chiringuito': “I love him very much, but we are in a very bad situation and nobody puts the money in Madrid …”.