After suffering a 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in El Clasico, Real Madrid went right ahead and got smacked again in another big match, falling 3-1 to AC Milan in the Champions League.
Real Madrid came into the game with all the local media talking about how Carlo Ancelotti and the club had identified the defense as the biggest weakness (yeah, no kidding) and were taking drastic steps to fix the team’s tactical issues before the Milan match.
Well, Alvaro Morata scored against Real Madrid yet again, and the Merengue club were badly outplayed by a thoroughly unimpressive Rossoneri that are in the midst of their own turmoil after the hiring of Paulo Fonseca.
There are so many issues plaguing Real Madrid, but there’s an overarching agreement that the defense is the key issue, with the team looking legitimately lost in transition while making the most basic of off-ball errors.
With Dani Carvajal out for the season, there is a severe lack of on-field leadership for Real Madrid, particularly at the back, and Nacho Fernandez’s exit to Saudi Arabia additionally took a vital defender and leader off the bench away from Los Blancos.
So why not sign a world-class center back and a legend of the game well-known for his leadership and ability to elevate the team? Why not replace Nacho with the player Nacho spent his career replacing?
Sergio Ramos is still available as a free agent. He hasn’t taken a deal with Sevilla, a Saudi Arabian club, or MLS. The 38-year-old remains ready for Real Madrid’s call, and you can’t help but wonder if he saw Real’s emerging defensive problem and decided to pass on deals in order to wait for them.
Remember, the iconic No. 4 left Real Madrid in 2021 for PSG to take a bigger payday, as Real were unwilling to give him a two-year deal or more money, with Florentino Perez perhaps wanting to replace him with David Alaba in free agency.
Real Madrid have gone on to win two Champions Leagues without Ramos, and Alaba played a vital role in the first one. But now, Alaba is still out with a torn ACL, and Real don’t have any winter options to sign, other than potentially overpaying Al-Nassr for Aymeric Laporte.
Before all that, Real Madrid can sign Ramos for free. There’s no way he’d turn down the chance to run it back with the club he loves, and he wouldn’t cost much – if money were the issue, he’d be in Saudi or America right now.
The downside with Ramos is that he’s not the player he used to be. But if we’re going off his Sevilla film, he’d still be one of the best center backs in La Liga and arguably better than Antonio Rudiger, who is so mistake prone that Madridistas need to start being more honest about him as a potential liability in some games.
Ramos can be what Nacho was: a great, veteran backup who is versatile, plays the ball well, and leads the team by example. He is a better player than Nacho, so, again, the upside is that Real Madrid are getting a borderline world-class central defender for free.
But the big key with Ramos are the intangibles. Real Madrid need a leader. They need someone who can hold players like Aurelien Tchouameni, Rudiger, and Ferland Mendy accountable when they make back-breaking mental errors.
I can come up with a list of several compelling reasons for why signing Ramos is a good idea, and the only thing I can think of against a Ramos signing is the fact that he’s no longer elite like he was in 2020 but even a declining Ramos is better than at least two of the players Real Madrid are starting in their back four in 2024.
