No more place in Spain’s eleven
National coach finally sorts out Sergio Ramos
02/23/2023 10:02 p.m
Sergio Ramos is missing out on the World Cup in Qatar and is hoping to get another chance in Spain’s squad after the change of national team coach. However, Luis de la Fuente robs him of this hope: the record player is out, there is no longer room for the world champion and two-time European champion.
Spain’s record national soccer player Sergio Ramos involuntarily ends his career in the national team. The decision of the 36-year-old defender was preceded by a conversation with the new national coach Luis de la Fuente. “This morning I got a call from the current coach telling me that no matter what level I show or how I progress in my sporting career, he doesn’t count on me and will not do so in the future,” he wrote Paris Saint-Germain professional on Instagram: “The time has come to say goodbye to the Seleccion.”
Ramos did not hide his disappointment at the decision of the new manager, who took over from Luis Enrique at the beginning of the year. “With great regret, this is the end of a journey that I had hoped would last longer and end with a better taste in the mouth,” he wrote.
Ramos had not been nominated for last year’s World Cup in Qatar by the then head coach Luis Enrique, which had triggered major discussions in Spain – including in the team. The defender, who won the Champions League four times with Real Madrid before moving to PSG, was still speculating on a return to the Furia Roja under Enrique’s successor. But this wish did not come true. “Football is not always fair and football is never just football,” wrote Ramos meaningfully.
The defender was world champion with Spain at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa (1-0 after extra time against the Netherlands) and twice European champion – in 2008 in the final against the German national team (1-0) and in 2012 with a 4-0 in the final in Kiev against Italy. In all, Ramos has won 180 caps for the side since his debut in 2005 aged just 18, scoring 23 goals.