This is a normal thing for Sergio Ramos to do and definitely not a sign the club are a mess
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has taken to Instagram to respond to a series of issues currently dogging him and the club.
In a question and answer session that he puts to himself, the Spaniard tackles reports of a spat with Marcelo, his controversial booking against Ajax and subsequent ban, and his decision to film a documentary while watching his teammates exit the Champions League.
As Real lost 4-1 to Ajax at the Bernabeu, Ramos was pictured in a personalised executive box while surrounded by TV cameras, leading to suggestions he was more interested in his personal image than actually watching the match.
“There are certain commitments made and it never remotely went through my head that the game could have turned out as it did,” Ramos wrote. “The recording itself was scaled down as the game went on.”
The Blancos captain also hit out at UEFA for handing out an extra suspension after his late booking in the first leg of the last-16 tie, which he described as “absolutely an error” for which he takes “200% blame”. Authorities viewed it as a deliberate booking to clear his card tally ahead of the latter stages – which Real didn’t reach anyway.
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As one of the most experienced voices in the dressing room, Ramos’ influence is thought to be wide-reaching and reports of a feud with Marcelo indicate a big split inside the squad.
“We have exchanges in every training session,” he wrote on reports of a “confrontation”.
“It’s part of working with pressure. But it’s just an anecdote like so many others that happen from day to day. Marcelo is like a brother to me.”
The future of coach Santiago Solari is up for debate and Ramos insists the playing staff are fully behind the under-fire Argentine, even if the matter is out of his hands.
“It’s a decision that’s not ours to make and in which we never interfere,” he added.
“We have enormous respect for the position and we always support the Real Madrid coach.
The centre-back claims that these statements show that he is “not hiding” amid “disastrous” recent events. Madrid are out of the Copa del Rey and Champions League with a huge gap between themselves and league leaders Barcelona.
“These reflections are, without doubt, the result of a deeply disappointing season but if success didn’t stop us, we’re not going to let defeat stop us,” he wrote. “It’s our obligation to carry on, to work and to evolve.
“Together we have to work for the future and restore our hope.”
