Days before Real Madrid took the decision to terminate the appointment of Santiago Solari in order to bring back Zinedine Zidane, there was a great crisis rocking the club which had just fallen to an embarrassing 4-1 loss at home to Ajax; a fourth successive home loss for Real Madrid.
Club captain, Sergio Ramos, was suspended for that game having picked up a suspension late in the first leg which Real won and after the second leg, there were angry words exchanged between the Spanish defender and the club president.
Standing to defend his team-mates and himself from charges of unprofessionalism and indulgence, Ramos squared up to the club’s supremo. Voices were raised and Pérez expressed aloud a long held desire as he threatened to kick out the captain. “Pay me, and I’ll go,” Ramos fired back.
If there needed to be a rude awakening for the toxic atmosphere at the club, that was it. Now, it remains to be seen what happens to Ramos at the club. Some blame him for Real’s early exit in the Champions League as he was deemed to have got himself yellow carded in Amsterdam.
Now, Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has revealed the full details of Sergio Ramos’ row with Florentino Perez after Real Madrid were dumped out of the Champions League earlier this month.
The Spanish aristocrats currently sit in third place in La Liga, a distant 12 points adrift of leaders Barcelona with just 11 games remaining, and are out of the Champions League following a stunning 4-1 home defeat by Ajax in the second leg of their last-16 tie.
Los Blancos on Monday reappointed Zinedine Zidane as head coach until June 2022 after bringing Santiago Solari’s time at the helm to an end in an attempt to steady the ship. Senior players Isco, Gareth Bale and Marcelo appeared to have fallen out of favour with Solari, while Ramos himself was reportedly involved in an angry exchange with club president Perez following the Ajax defeat.
Commenting on that claim, the defender said in a tweet on Monday: “Dressing room issues are discussed and resolved in the dressing room. There’s no problem whatsoever and everybody has the same interest: @realmadrid.”
However, Balague has shed further light on the reported bust-up with Perez, claiming Ramos told the president that he “had done his best to kill” off the club. Balague wrote for BBC Sport: “It is the custom of club president Perez to visit the dressing room after home matches.
Needless to say on this occasion it was not to offer his congratulations. My sources tell me what followed was a tirade against the players, accusing them of lacking professionalism, taking too much time off and effectively blaming them for the dire situation the club had found itself in.”
He continued: “The only player to respond was Ramos. What ensued over what I am reliably told was little more than one or two minutes, was what media sources euphemistically refer to as a ‘frank and robust exchange of views’.
Ramos told the president that if he really wanted someone to blame for the club’s plight he might like to take a look at himself in the mirror. Ramos conceded that the club was sick but added that Perez, rather than treat the patient, had done his best to kill it off.”
Balague also claims it was then Perez threatened to get rid of Ramos: “Perez responded by telling Ramos that he would get rid of him, which was met with something akin to ‘show me the money and I’ll be on my way’.
And while this carried on, from all corners there came a deafening silence that said much more about the lack of captains, generals and leaders in the Madrid dressing room than mere words ever could.”
W