Toni Kroos pleads for Sergio Ramos to stay at Real Madrid

Nicholas Hughes

• Updated: 11 Jun 2021 14:01 BST
• 5 min read

Toni Kroos has thrown his support behind Real Madrid teammate Sergio Ramos, outlining his hopes for the Spaniard to stay at the club.

The 35-year-old is out of contract this summer and has been strongly linked with a move away from the Bernabeu, with reports of a rift between him and the club’s hierarchy.

But Kroos is eager for the centre-back to remain at Madrid and hopes that Ramos can sign a new contract for next season.

“I don’t know how things are going with the club. Of course, he’s a top colleague and I enjoyed very much playing with him and I really hope that we’ll have some more years together,” he told reporters.

“But in the end, it’s not my decision. What I can say is that he’s a great guy – and the best captain I ever had in my career.”

Ramos joined Real in 2005 in a transfer from Sevilla and has gone on to win everything there is to win in Spanish football, as well as two European Championships and a World Cup with Spain.

But this season proved one of the more difficult in his career with injuries interrupting the bulk of his campaign and meaning he failed to secure a spot in Spain’s squad for this summer’s Euros.

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Ramos only played 15 times, his least amount of La Liga appearances in any season since his debut senior season with Sevilla all the way back in 2003/04.

That coincided with Real Madrid failing to pick up any silverware, which speaks to the fact that this summer’s tournament will be the first ever where a Spanish team doesn’t feature a Los Blancos player.

Rumours are suggesting that Ramos is ready to pen a one-year extension, though, and will go again at Real Madrid with Carlo Ancelotti returning to the managerial hotseat for next season.