It has not been Luis Enrique, as the doomsayers anticipated, but Luis de la Fuente who has definitively lowered the curtain on the international career of Sergio Ramos (Camas, 1986). The PSG central defender announced his goodbye to the Spanish team this Thursday, a decision motivated by a call from the coach informing him that he was no longer going to count on his services "regardless" of his performance. Neither the form nor the substance have even remotely convinced Ramos, the footballer who has worn the red shirt the most times in history (180), who has died (sportingly) killing. An attitude that is respected from Las Rozas but where he has not been entirely good, as is logical.
Using the example of veteran footballers who continue to defend the colors of their national team such as Modric (37), Messi (35) or Pepe (39), Ramos bitterly regrets in a letter that his successful stage with Spain has not ended "due to a personal decision (...) or because of my sports performance”. A quick reading of his words reveals a deep discontent with the decision of De la Fuente, who from the first day of his appointment had received pressure to reconvene that of Camas, but who has finally taken the opposite path after a few weeks of reflection with his trusted men.
The Sevillian center-back has not played a match with Spain since March 31, 2021, when in an almost painful image, he jumped onto the field for 4 minutes against Kosovo simply to add one more international cap, his 180th, with the connivance of the then coach , Luis Enrique. A stamp that will remain forever in history because he will never again put on the shirt of his beloved team, with which he won two European Championships and a World Cup. An injury would separate him from the Eurocup that same year and Luis Enrique never called him up again despite receiving, like De la Fuente, a lot of pressure to change his mind. A first season at PSG in which he made the infirmary his home did not exactly help him in that regard.
Despite everything, Sergio Ramos' career with Spain, which began under the guidance of Luis Aragonés in a friendly against China on March 26, 2005, is a film of successes, up to four World Cups and three Euro Cups have been played among those 180 games, with 23 goals celebrated
"The time has come, the time to say goodbye to the National Team, our dear and exciting Red. This morning I received a call from the current National Team Manager who told me that he does not count and that he will not count on me, regardless of the level that I can show or how my sports career continues. With great regret, it is the end of a journey that I hoped would be longer and that it would end with a better taste in my mouth, on a par with all the successes we have achieved with our Red.
I humbly believe that this trajectory deserved to end due to a personal decision or because my performance was not up to what our National Team deserves, but not due to age or other reasons that, without having heard them, I have felt. Because being young or less young is not a virtue or a defect, it is just a temporary characteristic that is not necessarily related to performance or ability. I look with admiration and envy at Modric, Messi, Pepe... the essence, tradition, values, meritocracy and justice in football. Unfortunately it will not be like that for me, because football is not always fair and football is never just football.
For all this I assume it with this sadness that I want to share with you, but also with my head held high and very grateful for all these years and for all your support. I take with me indelible memories, all the titles we have fought for and celebrated together, and the tremendous pride of being the Spanish player with the most caps. This shield, this shirt and these fans, all of you, have made me happy. I will continue to cheer on my country from home with the emotion of the privileged person who has been able to proudly represent it 180 times. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who always believed in me!"
