Spanish football star Sergio Ramos has ruled out a move to Barcelona or return to Sevilla following the confirmation of his exit from Real Madrid.
Ramos is to steer faraway from the Santiago Bernabeu after 16 years when his contract expires at the top of this month after failing to agree a replacement deal.
The veteran centre-back has said he did attempt to accept Real Madrid‘s offer of a one-year deal on reduced terms, but he was told it had been ‘too late’.
And so a replacement chapter awaits, but while Ramos‘ next club remains unknown for now, he has confirmed he won't be heading back to Sevilla, nor will he join Real Madrid’s eternal rivals Barcelona.
“I’m not joining Sevilla, this is often not even an option,” he said during his departure news conference , as transcribed by Fabrizio Romano.
“Barcelona? Impossible. You’ll never see me at Barça. I don’t know which club I’m joining yet. When I’ll know, I’ll be the primary to announce it.
“It’s not time to speak about my future.”
Ramos is out there for free of charge this summer, but his large salary means he won't come cheap.
The question now are going to be what club is willing to plan to such an outsized salary for a 35-year-old who missed as many as 35 games through injury across last season.
With Barcelona and Sevilla ruled out and Atletico Madrid extremely unlikely to be an option, one thing that's clear is that Ramos looks set to go away La Liga for the primary time in his career.