Paris Saint-Germain defender Sergio Ramos is saying goodbye to the Spain national team. Rather than attempting a last dance with La Roja, the veteran prefers to go out on his terms.
Ramos announced his retirement from international competition as qualifying matches for the UEFA Euro 2024 begin in March. The 36-year-old thanked various teammates along the way in his career.
“The time has come, the time to say goodbye to the National Team, our dear and exciting Red,” Ramos said in a statement (h/t TyC Sports). “This morning, I received a call from the current National Team Manager who told me that he does not count and that he will not count on me, regardless of the level that I can show or how I continue my sports career.
“With great regret, it is the end of a journey that I hoped would be longer and that it would end with a better taste in the mouth, on a par with all the successes we have achieved with our Red. I humbly believe that this trajectory deserved to end due to a personal decision or because my performance was not up to what our National Team deserves, but not due to age or other reasons that, without having heard them, I have felt. Because being young or less young is not a virtue or a defect; it is just a temporary characteristic that is not necessarily related to performance or ability. I look with admiration and envy at Modric, Messi, Pepe … the essence, tradition, values, meritocracy and justice in football. Unfortunately, it will not be like that for me because football is not always fair and football is never just football.”
Ramos not competing for the Spanish team also might cause speculation about where he’ll play next season. The former Real Madrid captain’s contract expires in June. With no European competition to prepare himself for, it opens up options outside of the old continent.
A potential move to MLS or taking an offer from a Saudi Arabian club could be in the mix for Ramos. Nonetheless, his future won’t be at PSG as the French giants revamp their backline, with Milan Škriniar set to join the capital club in June and become the anchor of the defense.
