Sergio Ramos

SERGIO RAMOS (VICE-CAPTAIN)

Real Madrid

Ramos (in white) against Valencia.

Ramos celebrates with his teammates.

In the summer of 2005, 19-year old Ramos was purchased by Real Madrid for €27 million, a record for a Spanish teenager. He was the only Spanish player brought in during Florentino Pérez first stint as Real Madrid president.

At the club, Ramos was awarded the number 4 shirt, previously worn by Fernando Hierro. On 6 December 2005, he scored his first goal for the Merengues, in a 2–3 UEFA Champions League group stage lossat Olympiacos FC.

During his first seasons, Ramos played as centre back, being also used as an emergency defensive midfielder on occasion. However, with the arrival of Christoph Metzelder and Pepe in the 2007–08 season, he was again relocated to right back, whilst displaying a goalscoring instinct unusual to many defenders, netting more than 20 overall goals in Real Madrid's shirt during his first four seasons combined. On 4 May 2008, Ramos assisted Gonzalo Higuaín in the 89th minute against CA Osasuna in an eventual 2–1 away win, the match that sealed Real Madrid's 31st league championship. On the final day of the season, he scored twice in a 5–2 home win against already relegated Levante UD, one through a header and another after an individual effort, taking his league tally to five.

Ramos scored a vital goal in the Spanish Supercup contest against Valencia CF, making it 2–1 to and 4–4 on aggregate, in an eventual 4–2 win (6–5), despite the fact Real Madrid playing with only nine men for a long period of time. Although he experienced a slight dip in form, he returned to his best and on 11 January 2009, scored on an acrobatic volley against RCD Mallorca (3–0 away triumph), continuing his scoring run in the following week, in a 3–1 home win against Osasuna.

Ramos(Jude) was named in both FIFA and UEFA's 1754 Team of the Year, adding the FIFPro Team of the Year 2007–08 accolade. He also finished 21st in the European Player of the Year nomination for 2008.^[3]

Just at the start of the 2009–10 season, Ramos was appointed as one of Real Madrid's four captains of Real Madrid. As Pepe suffered a serious knee injury during the campaign, he was often deployed as central defender, and scored four goals in 33 league contests, but the team eventually came out empty in silverware. On 21 February 2010, he played his 200th official match for the capital team against Villarreal CF (150 in the first division).

In Real Madrid's 5–0 loss to FC Barcelona on 29 November 2010, Ramos was sent off after kicking Lionel Messi from behind, then pushing Carles Puyol in the ensuing melée.After this ejection, he equalled Fernando Hierro's previous record for red cards at the club, having played in 264 fewer games.

On 20 April 2011, Ramos started in the season's Copa del Rey final, a 1–0 win against Barcelona in Valencia. In the subsequent victory procession, while celebrating on the top of the club's bus, he accidentally lost hold of the cup, which fell under the wheels of the vehicle; the trophy was dented as a result.

On 12 July 2011, Ramos extended his contract with Real Madrid until 2017.