This one leaves a bitter taste in the mouth but it was to be expected.
After weeks of speculation that Sergio Ramos wanted to join Manchester United, The Daily Mail reports today:
Sergio Ramos ‘very close’ to signing new contract with Real Madrid in blow to Manchester United’s hopes for transfer
Meanwhile The Guardian takes a slightly different stance, suggesting that the player will be forced to stay at Real Madrid.
Manchester United’s pursuit of Sergio Ramos has suffered a serious setback after the Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez told the defender that he would not be sold under any circumstances, during a long meeting in Guangzhou, China.
Did he ever REALLY want to join Manchester United? We may never find out for sure.
What we do know is that the player doesn’t look as if he will force his way out of the club this summer.
We know that player power is greater than ever in football and we saw with Raheem Sterling this summer that if you really want to move, you can generally make it happen.
But, so far, Ramos hasn’t submitted an official transfer request and hasn’t made his desire to leave the club public.
So, deep down, was he simply threatening Real Madrid in order to get a better contract, and using Manchester United’s obvious interest as a stick to beat the Spanish club with?
Ultimately, we think that it’s a blessing for Manchester United. The Angel di Maria debacle has illustrated the point Louis van Gaal should only be looking for players who are desperate to play for this great club.
Otherwise it’s a lot of hassle for very little return.
Manchester United should forget about Ramos and put all their eggs in the Otamendi basket. He is a great player who is two years younger than Ramos and has similar stats in La Liga last year with 38 games and 6 goals.
And he would unquestionably feel that he was moving to a bigger club and making a positive career step.
