Sergio Ramos has revealed how his 2005 move from Sevilla to Real Madrid caused a tremendous amount of pain for him and his family, owing to a spread of misinformation and lies.
The legendary centre-back was one of the hottest young properties in world football when Real swooped to sign him over a decade and a half ago, and he’s gone to enjoy incredible success at both domestic, continental and international level.
Ramos’ Real Madrid adventure has delivered multiple Champions League titles, while his former employers Sevilla have also risen to the top of European football – winning the Europa League an astonishing six times.
But the manner of Ramos’ departure has always been contentious. Sevilla have long pointed at the finger at the Spaniard for engineering a move away from Andalusia, while he’s always maintained that he did nothing wrong.
Ramos has now opened up fully on his version of events in his Amazon documentary, The Legend of Sergio Ramos, where he accused information of being “manipulated” against him, before detailing the emotional distress caused not only to him, but to his family members.
“I know what Sevilla is and how the fans feel,” the centre-back stated in his Amazon documentary. “Nobody can tell me, because I’ve experienced it since I was young.
‘The Legend of Sergio Ramos’ is coming soon to @PrimeVideoSport @SergioRamos #LaLeyendaSR pic.twitter.com/zfqjyJG9K6
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) June 29, 2020
“All of the information was manipulated, and they lied to Sevilla. It was painful, not only for me but for my family. I’ll never forgive them for the pain my grandparents went through, for my parents, who cannot return to Sevilla’s stadium.”
Ramos admitted that he wishes he’d addressed the issue himself earlier – rather than relying on others to detail his version of events – but also stated his undying love for Sevilla remains. He did add, however, that he has no regrets over the move itself, only with how things played out in public.
“I’ve made mistakes in my life and one of the biggest was not coming out publicly to explain [the move]. I let others tell the story for me,” he continued.
“My signing was fully agreed between the clubs; it wasn’t Real Madrid meeting a clause, as it was said to have been. That meant the fans didn’t give me the same affection that I’ve always had and always will have for the club.
“I’d make the same decision a thousand times over, but I’d never let anyone tell the story that was told at the time. To this day I can always say that I’ve played for Sevilla and that I’ll always be a Sevilla player until I die, but I can also say proudly that I’m Real Madrid and Spain captain.”
