Renowned football journalist and La Liga expert Sid Lowe has shared on Twitter his information on how things currently stand with the stand off between Manchester United and Real Madrid regarding Sergio Ramos.
Lowe confessed that much of what he was saying on his Twitter account was essentially what he had said before but added a couple of morsels of interest; first, re-affirming our story from the other day discussing Real Madrid’s process with naming captains and that Ramos’ current position as heir to the armband is not anything likely to have an influence on procedings, and second, that Ramos remains firm that he wants to leave.
‘Ramos wants to go to Man Utd, and only to them,’ Lowe tweeted. ‘He has told Real Madrid that.’
Lowe then confirmed that how the saga will end is unclear – whether or not it will take the players forcing the issue in order to accelerate proceedings.
Of course, there is the matter of whether United will feel they have to move swifter in order to strengthen their defence. With the Old Trafford side still not guaranteed Champions League football, it may well be that Ramos, a player at his peak, wishes to see if they qualify for the group stage before making a concerted effort to push through a move.
Ramos may well hold the key to any transfers happening between the clubs this season. United have made their position clear to Real Madrid and David De Gea about how they would rather keep the goalkeeper if they do not receive a sizeable fee but if Ramos threatens to go public with his desire to leave, then Rafa Benitez will be faced with a tricky situation.
Louis van Gaal, meanwhile, is keen to strengthen his defence, and appears eager to do so sooner rather than later – whether or not he feels he can afford to wait until after the Champions League playoff may be another important factor.
