Ramos' most difficult year

What may be Sergio Ramos' last year at Real Madrid is also the most difficult. The 2020-21 season of the captain is being an ordeal of injuries and difficulties that is preventing him from showing his best level just at the moment when he most needs to do so to convey to the club the feeling that he is still vital in the white sports structure. After the duel against Chelsea, Ramos relapsed and it remains to be seen if he will play white again.

And it is that the central forced to reach the semifinal return of the Champions League at Stamford Bridge, also forced by the losses of Varane, Carvajal and Lucas Vázquez. He played the 90 minutes as best he could, not at his best level because he still lacked filming to get there., and shortly after a new muscular problem was confirmed that prevented him from playing against Sevilla in Valdebebas. Ramos is confident that he will be able to play for Madrid again this season, as a prelude to this summer's Eurocup, but the season is about to end (there are three games left in two weeks) and the chances that his club course is over is there.

Whatever happens, it will have been the campaign in which Ramos will have played the fewest games since he signed for Real Madrid in the summer of 2005. He has only 21 at the moment, which could be 24 at the most if he miraculously returned for the match against Granada on Thursday. The worst data of a past season was in 2015-16, with only 33 games as a result of a shoulder problem after a fall to score a semi-Chilean goal in Pizjuán against Sevilla. In the rest of the white seasons, Ramos has been regular and has avoided injuries well: he has played at least 40 games in all seasons, except for the two mentioned.

However, this season he has already accumulated eight injuries (including muscle problems, the coronavirus and other problems) and has been absent for 31 games, figure that is likely to increase. That's almost as many games as he missed in the past three seasons, combined: 33. And triple the number in 2016-17, when he missed 12 games due to three different injuries.

Renewal, years and salary drop

In his recent interview with Ibai Llanos, Ramos made a claim that physically, despite his 35 years, he is still in top shape: “Football has evolved for the better on a physical level, which is becoming more balanced. There are certain players that we took care of ourselves ten years ago. My 34 is my 28 from ten years ago. If you sowed ten years ago, now you reap. Now I feel stronger, faster and more experienced. I see myself leaving football earlier for a mental issue than for a physical issue. “His level in the first part of the season proves him right, but 2021 takes it away, at least in part: He has only played five games and 395 minutes since he started this year.

And all this comes to him when the negotiation for his renewal with Madrid is at a standstill. Ramos ends his contract on June 30 and at the moment there is no white smoke in sight. The Sevillian wants two years of contract, while the club is inclined to give him a fixed one and that is renewed year after year, given his advanced age. The 10% salary cut that the club demands is a minor problem, the years are the key and what can end up tilting the agreement or not. And a summer with curves is coming in Madrid: Alaba will arrive (it is closed, waiting for the signature and official announcement) and Varane could leave, who does not sign the renewal and has a good sale sign.