SERGIO RAMOS has retired from international football after being told he does not feature in new Spain boss Luis de la Fuente’s plans.
The Paris Saint-Germain defender, 36, helped his nation to consecutive European Championship success and lifted the World Cup.
Now he has called time on his illustrious time as the country’s most-capped player with 180 caps.
Although Ramos revealed how he feels he has been forced into the decision following a conversation with De la Fuente, who replaced Luis Enrique after the World Cup, this morning.
In an emotional 334-word statement on Instagram, which was posted alongside a number of images from his career representing La Roja, he wrote: “The time has come, the time to say goodbye to the national team, our dear and exciting Red.
“This morning I received a call from the current coach who told me that he doesn’t count and that he won’t count on me, regardless of the level I can show or how I continue my sports career.
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“With great regret, it is the end of a journey that I hoped would be longer and that it would end with a better taste in the mouth, on a par with all the successes we have achieved with our Red.
“I humbly believe that this trajectory deserved to end due to a personal decision or because my performance was not up to what our national team deserves, but not due to age or other reasons that, without having heard them, I have felt.
“Because being young or less young is not a virtue or a defect, it is just a temporary characteristic that is not necessarily related to performance or ability. I look with admiration and envy at Modric, Messi, Pepe… the essence, tradition, values, meritocracy and justice in football.
“Unfortunately it will not be like that for me, because football is not always fair and football is never just football.”
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Ramos continued: “For all this, I assume it with this sadness that I want to share with you, but also with my head held high and very grateful for all these years and for all your support. I take with me indelible memories, all the titles we have fought for and celebrated together, and the tremendous pride of being the Spanish player with the most caps.
“This shield, this shirt and these fans, all of you, have made me happy.
“I will continue to cheer on my country from home with the emotion of the privileged person who has been able to proudly represent it 180 times.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who always believed in me! ❤️💛❤️”
Ramos, at the age of 18 years and 361 days, made his debut for Spain in March 2005 in a 3-0 friendly win over China to make him the youngest player to represent the country for 55 years.
He played a key role in Spain’s four year dominance of international football when they won Euro 2008.
That was followed by World Cup glory in 2010 and another Euro success in 2012.
He remained a prominent member of the national team for the next decade until he was left out of the last European Championship squad following an injury-plagued campaign.
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That was his first omission for a major tournament since Euro 2004 and ended a run of featuring in ten consecutive tournaments.
Ramos was then left out of the World Cup squad in November with his last appearance for Spain coming on 31 March 2022 against Kosovo in a 3-1 home victory.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
