Sergio Ramos, one of the greatest stoppers in the history of the Spanish national team, announced this evening (Thursday) his retirement from the national uniform. The captain of the ‘La Roja’ team and the showrunner shared a post on social media in which he explained that the incoming coach, Luis de la Fuente, called him and informed him that he was not part of his plans for the squad. Following this, the legendary brakeman announced that he was leaving the national team for good.
“The time has come. Time to say goodbye to the national team, to the dear and exciting fans,” Ramos wrote. “This morning I received a call from the current coach of the national team who told me that he does not count me in his plans and will not count me in the future, despite the high level I can show and continue in my career. With great regret, this is the end of my career in the national team. I hoped it would be longer and I would Happy if it would have ended in a better taste, despite all the success I achieved with ‘La Roja’.”
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The Spanish captain emphasized that it has nothing to do with his age and he thinks he deserved to finish his career in the national uniform for other reasons: “I look with admiration and humility at players like Modric, Messi, Pepe. Unfortunately, it will not be like that for me, because football is not always fair, and football is not Always only football. I take all the experiences, the celebrations, the joy, the titles and the crowd that together we have achieved so much for a lifetime. I am proud to be the Spaniard with the most appearances in the national team. It is a great privilege to be the person who got to represent Spain 180 times. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart that you always believed in me.”
Ramos made 180 appearances in the senior Spanish national team uniform, in which he scored 23 goals and assisted eight. The former captain won the 2010 World Cup with La Roja and recorded two wins in the Euros – in 2008 and 2012. The defender started his career in the national uniform as a right back in the 2006 World Cup, and changed the position to the center of defense during the Euro 2012 qualifiers, which he won with his teammates. For the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar, Ramos was not invited by the former team coach, Luis Enrique, when he made his last appearance in the World Cup qualifiers in a 1:3 victory over the Kosovo team, where he came off the bench in the 86th minute.