Ramos wants to leave Real Madrid

Sergio Ramos has told Real Madrid he wants to leave the club this summer and was told the Spanish giant will listen to offers.

According to the Guardian and to a number of Spanish outlets, the 29-year-old defender met Real Madrid’s chief executive José Ángel Sánchez at Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground on Wednesday morning to confirm his intention to leave the Spanish capital.

Ramos, who has been at the Santiago Bernabeu for a decade, has been insistently linked with a move to Manchester United over the last couple of days, with United seemingly keen to include the World Cup winner in any deal involving David De Gea.

However, earlier this week, Real claimed that Ramos, who has a buyout clause worth €180m (£128m), will not be sold this summer.

The central defender’s future remains uncertain, for while he has told the 10-time European Cup winners he wants to leave, United are understood to be aiming for a straight swap with De Gea, rather than shell out £46m as initially reported earlier this week.

Ramos’ contract with Real Madrid, a club with whom he has won three La Liga titles, one European Cup, two Spanish Cups and two Spanish Supercups, expires in 2017 and the club have not offered him an improved deal, nor as the defender say he was prepared to reopen negotiations.

With United desperate to bolster their defensive options, Ramos, who has played over 400 games for Madrid, would represent a major upgrade on the current personnel at Louis Van Gaal’s disposal, but he’s expected to seek a very lucrative deal.