MADRID • After 16 years and 668 games with Real Madrid, Sergio Ramos may have played his last match with the Spanish champions.
The Spain defender, who has not featured since the Jan 14 Spanish Super Cup loss to Athletic Bilbao, underwent knee surgery on Saturday that media reports have said will rule him out for between six and 10 weeks. The 34-year-old is out of contract this summer and no extension has been agreed.
According to Spanish daily Mundo Deportivo, Real have given Ramos an ultimatum to decide his future by next month.
But local radio station Onda Cero has reported he is leaning towards Paris Saint-Germain's offer of a three-year deal worth a reported €45 million (S$72.3 million), which Madrid cannot match. Real are already preparing for life after Ramos, with a deal on the table for David Alaba, who is set to leave European champions Bayern Munich on a free transfer.
However, Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is still hopeful his captain will have some part to play this season, provided Real are still competing on their two remaining fronts - La Liga and the Champions League.
The Frenchman, speaking after their 2-1 away win over bottom side Huesca on Saturday to provisionally move to second in the table, said: "I sent Sergio a message, I know the operation went well and the good thing is that from tomorrow he's going to get to work on returning as soon as possible and that's good news for us."
Zidane had entered the game under a cloud of speculation over his future and in the build-up, angrily hit out at his critics for not showing him "respect".
His players responded by digging deep against Huesca, with Raphael Varane the unlikely hero as the France defender's second-half double sealed the victory after Javier Galan's stunning strike had put the hosts in front.
Zidane was back in the dugout for the first time since testing positive for the coronavirus. And while the injury-hit side - missing Ramos, Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vazquez and Eden Hazard - were not at their best, they showed "character", said Varane.
Leaders Atletico Madrid (50) still remain seven points clear and have two games in hand.
"We are not comfortable, we were OK, but we have to build and go step by step until we're playing well again," Zidane said.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
