Sergio Ramos set for awkward Cristiano Ronaldo reunion after his Messi comments

14 June 2023 , 08:10

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Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo were teammates for nine seasons at Real Madrid (Image: Alvarad/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Sergio Ramos is weighing up an offer to be reunited with former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo – just months after claiming Lionel Messi was the "best player football has ever produced."

Ramos has become a free agent after leaving Paris Saint-Germain at the end of his contract. Now aged 37, the veteran central defender is closing in on 1,000 first-team appearances across his senior career for club and country.

The talismanic central defender endured a difficult 12 months of injury niggles during his first season in the French capital, coinciding with dropping out of the Spanish squad and struggling for regular football.

However, he did enjoy a resurgence of form and fortune at the Parc des Princes this campaign – even if it was not enough for him to be included in Spain’s World Cup squad – as he made 45 appearances across all competition, 32 more than the previous term.

Yet Ramos was not offered a new contract in Paris as they reshape their squad this summer, with Milan Skriniar arriving from Inter while Lucas Hernandez is set to join from Bayern Munich as part of a squad overhaul at the Ligue 1 champions.

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Ramos has several options on the table with Saudi clubs Al-Ahli and Al-Nassr among those linked to his signature. The latter would see him link up once again with Ronaldo, whom he played alongside for nine seasons at Real Madrid – before the Portuguese superstar departed in 2018.

Messi and Ramos both joined PSG in the summer of 2021 having been long-term rivals at Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

Have Your Say! Should a Premier League club consider a move for Ramos? Tell us what you think here.

There are few concrete reports of authority on the future of Ramos but there Ronaldo's January move to Saudi Arabia has sparked a host of ageing footballers holding talks with its league's leading clubs amid major government investment. Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante are leading the exodus of players from European football to the league this summer.

That makes the central defender among the group of players who has played alongside both the Portuguese star and Lionel Messi at club level, having been a teammate of the Argentine at PSG. Earlier this year, Ramos even declared Messi as the 'best ever' – a comment that may not have gone down well with his former Madrid teammate.

Ramos told PSG TV, per GOAL: "There was suffering for several years playing against Messi. I am now enjoying him. He is the best player football has ever produced."

For 16 seasons, Ramos and Messi lined up against each other for Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, clashing on many occasions. In a series of events few fans could have seen coming, the duo ended up as teammates as they moved to PSG on free transfers in the summer of 2021 – with both departing this year.

Colin Millar