Man United make £30m opening bid for Sergio Ramos

kessben June 25, 2015

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United believe that the defender’s age – he is 29 – makes even a £40m figure too high and poor value. But their determination to capitalise on his apparent desire to leave Madrid has led them to make a bid. It stands independent from any attempt they may make to include goalkeeper David de Gea’s expected departure to Spain as a part of the deal.
The size of United’s bid for Ramos is viewed at the Spanish end as a “serious” one. Though the offer is lower than Madrid will be prepared to accept, it seems likely to be the first move in a process of negotiation which could ultimately involve De Gea, whom the Spanish side want.

Revelation of the bid also demonstrates the duplicity of Madrid in their dealings with Ramos. The club have, to date, denied any bid has come in. Though the club’s stance has been that they will only allow Ramos to leave if he pays his £180m buy-out clause, there is no sense that they want to keep him.
United are wary of being played by Ramos, who has been demanding a new contract at the Bernabeu. But the Premier League side received further encouragement after a meeting between player and club on Wednesday morning in which he insisted that they listen to offers for him to leave.
The meeting at Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground, between chief executive Jose Angel Sanchez, Ramos and his brother and agent Rene Ramos, was intended to reach a truce in the increasingly strained relations between the two sides. No reconciliation was achieved and Ramos’ departure was – significantly – described as near inevitable on Tuesday by Pedro Riesco who works alongside the player’s brother.
“With everything that has happened it will be very difficult for Ramos to stay at Madrid,” Riesco told Radio Marca.
Club symbol
The battle over Ramos’ future centres on the players contract with the club that runs until 2017 and sees him pick up €5.5m (£3.9m) net a season. Real are understood to be willing to pay him €7m (£5.3m) but Ramos believes he is worth more and cannot understand the club allowing him to enter the last two years of his contract.
“Sergio is a symbol of this club,” Riesco added. “He has nothing to prove. But so many things are being said about him. There is so much manipulation to discredit his name via spokesmen who behave like puppets saying he is not respecting the club and that he is just a money-grabber.’
Ramos’ belief that he should not be entering the last two years of a contract without a new offer on the table is based on his vast wealth of Champions League experience, and the last minute goal which took the 2014 Champions League final into extra time and allowed Madrid to win their tenth European Cup.
But Perez has a history of being willing to part company with charismatic captains, including Raul and Fernando Hierro, who begin to eclipse him in popularity. It is highly unusual for Perez, who has appointed Rafael Benitez to replace Carlo Ancelotti as manager, to allow a player to run his contract down into the last two years.
Credit: The Independent