Sergio Ramos García (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈseɾxjo ˈramos ɣaɾˈθi.a]; born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back. Widely regarded as one of the greatest centre-backs of all time, he is known for his aerial abilities, physicality, leadership, and goalscoring abilities, having scored more than 100 goals for Real Madrid. In addition, he is one of the few players to have made over 1,000 career appearances.
Born in Camas in the Spanish province of Seville, Ramos played in Sevilla's youth academy and spent two seasons with the senior team, before moving to Real Madrid in the summer of 2005. He went on to become a mainstay for the club, winning 22 major honours, including five La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League titles. He was vital to all of the Champions League winning campaigns, as he was named in the competition's Team of the Season each time. Out of contract with Real Madrid, he signed for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain in July 2021, spending two seasons at the club and winning Ligue 1 twice, before returning to Sevilla for one season. After leaving Sevilla, Ramos joined Liga MX side Monterrey, where he captained the team and played in the inaugural edition of the expanded FIFA Club World Cup.
Internationally, Ramos represented Spain from 2005 to 2021, playing at four FIFA World Cups (winning the 2010 edition) and three UEFA European Championships (winning titles in 2008 and 2012). With 180 caps earned across sixteen years, he is the nation's record appearance holder.
Born in Camas, province of Seville, Andalusia, Ramos started playing at Camas CF by age six, then he began his career at local side Sevilla, emerging through the club's youth system alongside Jesús Navas and Antonio Puerta. He made his first-team and La Liga debut on 1 February 2004, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute for Paco Gallardo in a 0–1 away loss against Deportivo La Coruña.
In the 2004–05 season, Ramos appeared in 41 games as Sevilla finished sixth and qualified to the 2005–06 UEFA Cup, scoring in home fixtures against Real Sociedad (2–1) and Real Madrid (2–2). In the 2004–05 UEFA Cup, he scored his first continental goal, heading to conclude a 2–0 win over Nacional at the Ramon Sánchez Pizjuán in the first round (4–1 aggregate).
2005–09: Record transfer and early days
In the summer of 2005, Ramos was purchased by Real Madrid for €27 million, a record for a Spanish defender. He was the only Spanish player brought in during Florentino Pérez's first stint as Real Madrid’s president.
At the club, Ramos was assigned the number 4 shirt, previously worn by Fernando Hierro. On 6 December 2005 he netted his first goal for the Meringues, in a 2–1 UEFA Champions League group stage loss at Olympiacos.
During his first seasons, Ramos played as centre back, being also used as an emergency defensive midfielder on occasion. However, with the arrival of Christoph Metzelder and Pepe in the 2007–08 season, he was again relocated to right back. In his first four seasons at Real Madrid, Ramos displayed a goalscoring instinct unusual to many defenders, netting more than 20 goals overall. He also received the first nine of his 24 red cards for the club, including four in his debut season. His first red card came after two bookable offences in a 1–0 away loss to Espanyol on 18 September 2005.
During the 2006–07 season, Ramos scored five goals, including one in a 3–3 El Clásico draw with Barcelona, as Real Madrid won a record 30th league title.
On 4 May 2008, he assisted Gonzalo Higuaín in the 89th minute against Osasuna in an eventual 2–1 away win, the match that sealed the club's 31st league championship. On the final day of the season, he scored twice in a 5–2 home win against already relegated Levante: one through a header, and another an individual effort; these goals taking his league tally for the 2007–08 season to five.
On 24 August 2008, Ramos scored in the 2008 Supercopa de España second leg against Valencia, making the score 2–1 in an eventual 4–2 and 6–5 aggregate win. The victory came despite Real Madrid playing with only nine men for a long period of time after Rafael van der Vaart and Ruud van Nistelrooy were sent off. Although Ramos experienced a slight dip in form during the early part of the 2008–09 season, he returned to his best and on 11 January 2009, scoring an acrobatic volley in a 3–0 triumph at Mallorca. He continued his scoring run the following week in a 3–1 home win against Osasuna.
Ramos was named in both FIFA and UEFA's 2008 Team of the Year, adding the FIFPro Team of the Year 2007–08 accolade. He also finished 21st in the European Player of the Year nomination for 2008.
2009–14: Breakout and team mainstay
At the start of the 2009–10 season, Ramos was appointed as one of Real Madrid's four captains. Because Pepe had suffered a serious knee injury during this campaign, Ramos was often deployed as central defender. He scored four goals in 33 league matches; and, on 21 February 2010 he played his 200th official match for Los Blancos against Villarreal (150 in the first division). Despite these personal highlights, Real Madrid finished the campaign without picking up any silverware.
In Real Madrid's 5–0 loss at Barcelona on 29 November 2010, Ramos was sent off after kicking Lionel Messi from behind, then pushing Carles Puyol in the ensuing melée. After this ejection, he equalled Fernando Hierro's previous record of ten red cards at the club, despite having played in 264 fewer games. On 20 April 2011, Ramos started in the season's Copa del Rey final, a 1–0 win against Barcelona in Valencia. In the subsequent victory procession, while celebrating on the top of the club's bus, he accidentally lost hold of the cup, which fell under the wheels of the vehicle; the trophy was dented as a result.
On 12 July 2011, Ramos extended his contract with Real Madrid until 2017. The following 25 April, in the Champions League semi-finals' second leg against Bayern Munich, he missed his penalty shootout attempt as Real Madrid lost 3–1; the league campaign ended with them winning, with a record 100 points, after a four-year wait and he was the player with most balls recovered in his team, third overall.
On 9 January 2013, Ramos was sent off for a second bookable offense midway through the second half of an eventual 4–0 home win over Celta Vigo in the 2012–13 Copa del Rey. He subsequently received a four-match suspension, after it was revealed he also insulted referee Miguel Ángel Ayza Gámez. The following month, mere minutes after scoring the second goal at home against Rayo Vallecano and less than 20 minutes into the first half, he received two yellow cards within one minute in the eventual 2–0 home success, taking his red card tally with Real Madrid alone to 16; and 12 in the league.