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Real Madrid have officially confirmed that superstar defender Sergio Ramos is set to end his 16-year stay in the Spanish capital.
Ramos moved to the Santiago Bernabeu as a teenager back in 2005 for a fee of €27M, making him the most expensive Spanish defender at the time. He gradually grew into one of the most important players on the pitch for club and country alike, winning titles aplenty over the years.
An official club statement from Real Madrid read;
"Real Madrid CF announces that tomorrow, Thursday, June 17, at 12:30 pm, there will be an institutional act of tribute and farewell to our captain Sergio Ramos, with the presence of our president Florentino Pérez.
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"Next, Sergio Ramos will appear before the media at a telematic press conference."
Reports suggested that while both parties were keen to extend his stay, there was a stand-off between them as Ramos was keen on a two-year deal. Real Madrid were believed to be open only to a one-year deal with an optional one.
Ramos' departure the end of an era at Real Madrid
The 35-year-old inherited the captain's armband from Iker Casillas after the goalkeeper left the club and led Real Madrid by example. Ramos helped them to an unprecedented feat of four UEFA Champions League titles in five seasons, including the famous three-peat under Zinedine Zidane.
He also scored in two of those finals, with his goal in the 2014 final against Atletico Madrid regarded as one of the most important goals in Real Madrid's history. The iconic 92:48 goal was Ramos' crowning moment for Los Blancos, rising above the rest from a last-minute corner to bring them back into the game. They eventually beat Atletico Madrid by a scoreline of 4-1 to end their wait for La Decima.
Overall, Ramos played 671 times for Los Blancos, scoring 101 goals and setting up a further 40. He's helped Real Madrid rack up five LaLiga Santander titles (two as captain), two Copas del Rey and a staggering four UCL titles, three of which as captain of the side among other major honours.
While he's one of the highest-scoring defenders of his era, his tally of 191 cards (20 reds) is also a record figure for any player across all major European leagues.
The centre-back has etched his name into Real Madrid's history books and will surely be remembered as one of their greatest players of all time.
Here are some of the best tweets about Ramos' exit from Real Madrid.
