Sergio Ramos leaving Real Madrid Following 16 Decades

Madrid have scheduled a farewell service for their longtime captain in the presence of club president Florentino Perez on Thursday.

Sergio Ramos leaving Real Madrid Following 16 Decades

Ramos, 35, wanted a new two-year deal to stay in Madrid, but sources told ESPN that Perez was not ready to violate his policy of handing just one-year contracts to players over 30.

Conversations between Perez and Ramos have been ongoing throughout the past year and continued into June. But, neither party was prepared to compromise.

Despite reports to the contrary, sources told ESPN the Ramos did not need a pay increase to stay in the Santiago Bernabeu.

Ramos, who made 671 looks for Madrid, scoring 101 aims, has still not made a business decision on his future and is not expected to announce his next destination in Thursday's goodbye event.

ESPN shown recently that Manchester City are the front-runners to land his signature, although there are other alternatives on the table.

The Premier League champions are ready to offer a two-year deal until the summer of 2023. From that point, based on performances and Ramos' own programs, the defender may continue for a third year at City or occupy an choice to join Major League Football side New York City FC, who are also owned by the City Football Group.

Ramos is an immediate petition from City coach Pep Guardiola. The former Barcelona boss values the experience he'd increase his squad as well as the contest and guidance he'd supply for younger centre-backs Ruben Dias and John Stones.

City have Nathan Ake, however they've lost Eric Garcia to Barca on a free transfer and Aymeric Laporte may also leave this summer after losing his position in the side.

Ramos turned 35 in March, but sources have told ESPN the City handle data that indicates he's still able to do physically at the level of a player"aged between 28 and 30."

ESPN first reported Jan. 4 which City were monitoring Ramos' situation. Guardiola's insistence has become the secret to them continuing to follow progress with Madrid.

On the other hand, the player's camp are not ruling out anything, with different clubs expressing interest in recent months.

Madrid signed Ramos in 2005 from Sevilla, paying his $27 million launch clause.

In that moment, he's also won two European Championships with Spain along with the World Cup, though trauma issues in 2021 contributed to him missing out on Luis Enrique's squad for Euro 2020.

Ramos made just 21 looks for Madrid in all competitions last season as Los Blancos ended the effort without a trophy, missing out to the league name to competitions Atletico Madrid on the last day of the season.