Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has shortlisted five players who could replace Sergio Ramos at the Santiago Bernabeu should the captain leave this summer.
Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos may shockingly leave the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium during the summer. Manchester United and Liverpool have been thought to be early contenders to sign the Spain international, but by the look of how things are panning out, the central defender may want to head to China in search of money at the end of his career.
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In a recent interview with a Spanish radio channel, the club’s president Florentino Perez revealed that Ramos and his agent had talked to him regarding a move to the Far East, but Los Blancos were against letting the player leave for free because the Chinese Super League clubs cannot pay a transfer fee as they are governed by the league as a whole.
According to Fox Sports, Zinedine Zidane’s side has now drawn up a shortlist of five replacements for the former Sevilla defender. Inter Milan property Milan Skriniar and Napoli stalwart Kalidou Koulibaly are on top of the Los Merengues’ list while there are names from the Netherlands, England and France as well.
Matthijs de Ligt, a wanted man this summer is on their radar too. However, the Ajax superstar will mostly head for Barcelona. Another player on the radar is Virgil van Dijk from Liverpool but the Dutchman wouldn’t want to leave his current club because of the status he has achieved within two years. PSG’s Marquinhos is a realistic target though.
Through various claims, it has been reported that Real Madrid’s captain is unhappy with Florentino Perez’s hesitance in spending big to overhaul his squad. Ramos is of the opinion that players like Nacho, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric must not be given increase appraisals for the time being due to their poor performances over the last whole season.
Sergio Ramos’ incident is similar to what happened prior to the 2015/16 season when Manchester United were interested in his services. The Spain international eventually went on to sign a contract that saw him earn better and something similar should not be ruled out, with the Chinese Super League clubs being used as bait this time out.
Which of the five players could best suit Ramos’ personality and game in Madrid?