Like any player who drains his contract until the last minute without having renewed, Sergio Ramos is at risk. The player and his environment are very aware of this. Any act of bad fortune, an untimely long-term injury, can ruin the possibility of signing one last great contract, either in Real Madrid or in another team. There is a lot of money at stake, 30 million gross per year, what the defender charges. However, and as he demonstrated in the semifinals of the Super Cup against Athletic, Ramos can be honored. He played that final with knee pain. But it is logical to think that in what lies ahead the player has to make important decisions so as not to put his health at risk. Everyone knows that there are many times in his career that he has played while injured to help the team …
The last precedent of mishap, and very close for him because they were teammates of the Selection that has won the most in the history of our country, was that of Víctor Valdés. Bad fortune took hold of the then Barcelona goalkeeper, who was in his last year of his contract without having renewed because he had already made the decision to leave. It was on March 26, 2014 against Celta. A tear in the knee ligaments changed his fate, that aimed to be Monaco, then fashionable on the continent for its sporting strength. ANDAt that time, Valdés even had options to start ahead of Casillas at the World Cup in Brazil. After the injury and a tough recovery (and losing the last major contract of his life), he played several teams (United, Standard de Liege, Middlesbrough …) before his retirement.
The Valdés case was especially significant because it showed how cruel football can be, as it does not understand personal aspects. The Catalan goalkeeper had even signed a pre-contract with the Monegasque entity for four years (It could from January 1 because FIFA allows it). But after his injury, Monaco did not want to make it effective. “We will enforce what is signed,” said Gines Carvajal, the goalkeeper's representative, very annoyed.
In Barcelona there is a radically opposite case with another important player, Pique. The Blaugrana captain was injured shortly after signing an express renewal with Bartomeu. He finished his contract in 2022 (when he would be 35 years old) and signed for two more until 2024. A tranquility, of course, for a footballer who, like Ramos, has given so much for his club. Piqué was not in his last year of contract at the time of the injury, but his knee will keep him off the pitch for several months. If that happens in the last months of the contract … the problem is serious.
Ramos' physical strength and his taste for cultivating his body have kept the Madrid captain from having serious injuries throughout his extensive career, which began at Sevilla in 2003. It has already rained … Ramos is an example, season after season has been playing an average of nearly 50 games (not counting those played with the National Team). Only in 2015-16 he stayed at 33, and it was due to a shoulder injury that he suffered a relapse. This season he is the eighth outfield player for Madrid in minutes (he has Varane, Benzema, Mendy, Kroos, Casemiro, Modric and Lucas Vázquez ahead). Time will tell by telling how it affects the captain to be without a contract from June of this year.
