Sergio Ramos

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Chelsea to launch €40m Ramos bid

Chelsea are set to launch a sensational €40 million bid to sign Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos, according to Marca.

Blues owner Roman Abramovich is reportedly sick of watching fellow cash-rich club Manchester City outdo them in the transfer market.

Further compounding his frustration was his failed attempt to sign Brazilian star Neymar after the deal collapsed during the final stage.

The billionaire Russian is now ready to launch an assault for Ramos, who was among the shining stars in Spain's World Cup victory.

On top of the mammoth offer would be a five year contract for the Spaniard worth a staggering €10m per season and Chelsea are desperate to conclude the deal before the end of the transfer window.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti has managed just two major signings during the summer - Yossi Benayoun from Liverpool and Ramires from Benfica.

Despite the English champions' interest in Ramos, Real coach Jose Mourinho would not be keen in selling his prized defender to his former club, especially when he is struggling keep his backline fit in time for the start of the season.

However, the Special One could still be tempted should a humungous offer for Ramos come in, as he is currently on the hunt for a striker with Fernando Llorente, Emmanuel Adebayor or Edin Dzeko being among the possible targets.

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Ramos at Real Madrid lunchSergio

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Ramos

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Chelsea sporting director Frank Arnesen has personally assured Real Madrid president Florentino Perez they have made no move for Sergio Ramos.

The Blues were linked with a mammoth £33 million swoop for the Spain World Cup 2010 winner earlier this week after new contract talks stalled. The reports are understood to have been dismissed out of hand by the Chelsea hierarchy.

According to AS, Arnesen stated to Perez that he had been offered the player by an agent rather than making a move himself.

“It is absolutely false,” the Dane is believed to have said.

“We haven’t made any bid for Ramos.

“What did surprise us is that a person called us on behalf of the player to see if we were interested in signing him.”

Ramos himself quashed the rumour by declaring he wanted to finish his career at the Bernabeu.

Speaking to Marca, he said: “There’s no truth in it. I had a dream of winning the World Cup and I achieved it. Now I have another: to retire playing at Madrid.”

Ramos has been regarded as one of the best full-backs in the world for the last few years, which is highlighted by his Castrol Ranking at the World Cup this summer. The Spaniard was rated as the best player in South Africa as his side won the tournament for the first time in their history.

(goal.com)

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^oh thank God!!

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Randoms

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Ramos

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credit to elizlovescrisro @ Sergio-ramos.com

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"Don't compare Real & Barca yet!"

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos says it's too early to start drawing comparisons between the two La Liga giants.

After one round of matches, Barcelona lead Real Madrid by two points. Jose Mourinho's men failed to gift their coach an opening their victory, being held to a goal-less draw by Real Mallorca.

Barca, on the other hand, rushed out of the blocks with a 3-0 win over Racing Santander.

Given the high-pressure environment in Spain, the media has already started whispering that los Blancos are not good enough to snatch the domestic crown from their Catalan rivals.

However, right-back Ramos has pleaded for more time before judgement is passed on his side.

In comments quoted in the press, he said:"It is too early to compare either club. The season is long. They [barcelona] won because they are a great team.

"However, we are also going to improve. It is normal for everyone to focus on their own performances."

"The important thing is that we keep on improving, to make Real Madrid an even better team, and improve our game as much as possible."

Real were jolted by an opening day injury to Cristiano Ronaldo. However, the Portuguese winger is expected to be fit when the club face Osasuna on Sep 12 after the international break.

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more cute childhood pics

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Sergio for El País

Q: Why did you cut your hair?

A: I have a lot of superstitions. I wanted to play with long hair in the World Cup because in Austria, during the Eurocopa, I played with long hair and it brought us luck. The truth is I’m quite superstitious: I always enter the field on my left leg, I tie my right boot first, I pray to my grandparents before stepping onto the field… once the World Cup was over, I thought I would change my look a bit.

Q: Your goal celebrations also need to be explained. Why do you do so many things?

A: Well, because I don’t get to score a lot, and each time I score I want to dedicate it to two or three persons that I love. What hasn’t changed is the somersault. I started practicing that at the beach to make sure I wouldn’t injure myself, until I could do it with Madrid. Now, each time that I score, I do one.

Q: You’re 24 years old, but you’ve played in 247 games with Sevilla and Madrid and 69 with the national team, and you have scored more than 30 goals in top competition. Is your life a gift?

A: I’ve always believed that luck goes hand in hand with work and sacrifice. To become someone in football, I gave up my childhood. That’s hard. You see how your friends go to the movies, they go out at night, and you always have to say, “I can’t.” I was already training with Sevilla at the age of 16 and had a professional life. So, I had to give up a lot of the things people at the age do to be able to get to where I am today. When Caparrós called me up, I was still in school, and since the training sessions of the first team took place at the same time as classes, I couldn’t even go to school!

Q: Did Joaquín Caparrós change your life?

A: Yes. Not every coach puts faith in footballers without fame or experience like he did with that Sevilla team. I will be eternally grateful to him because he gave me affection, he taught me professionalism, he showed me the importance of sacrifice and of keeping one’s hopes up… The day that I don’t have hope anymore is the day that I’ll be lost. I always search for a new source of motivation and I’ve always set goals and sought to complete them. When I got called up to the first team, it was a dream to be able to be with Javi Navarro, Pablo Alfaro, Notario, Darío Silva… with time, I realize the impact those veterans had on my career. I was a very formal kid, quite annoying, but like a sponge. They made it clear to me that it took a lot to get to where they were, and that I had to take advantage of the opportunity. They always told me, “never be overly confident, because one day you could easily lose everything.”

Q: Now, you’re considered a veteran at the Bernabéu.

A: Yes. When I look at Canales, I see myself. When I arrived, at the age of 19, Zidane, Roberto Carlos, Raúl, Beckham were there… they transmitted to me the values that I would like to transmit now to those who have just come to Madrid. It’s my turn to take care of the young players. I’m a premature veteran. I’ve had to mature quickly. This is my sixth season with Madrid. Not many defenders can say that. [i completely agree.]

Q: What is the role of the second captain?

A: To respect the position. I’m one more on the team, but I have to take charge more than others, inside the locker room. It’s a huge responsibility to represent such a great club, and it requires a lot of sacrifice and a great commitment.

Q: That wasn’t enough to win titles in the last few years.

A: It’s true that adversity teaches you a lot, but let’s see if the good times will return.

Q: From the outside, it’s surprising that Madrid is starting from zero again, with a new coach, after coming so close to winning the Liga last year. Isn’t stability needed?

A: It would be a good idea for Mourinho to bring stability. For the good of the group and the institution.

Q: What does Mou have that makes everyone say such wonderful things about him?

A: We’re all happy with him. He has character, he’s direct and he brings out the best of everyone in the training sessions. Now I understand why he’s won so much. He has everything mapped out and he knows how to transmit that to the players. It’s going to be great for us.

Q: What is he asking for?

A: A good attitude, to set good examples. And sacrifice. You can have a bad day, but you can’t give up hope. You have to arrive each day with the desire to learn and to become better. Mourinho is very demanding. His demands are the best thing that could have happened to us because they make you better.

Q: What part of your game would you like him to acknowledge?

A: I respect equally those who compliment me and those who criticize me. You can say anything about me, as long as I’m giving my all for my team. You can say that I’m good or that I’m bad, but I won’t accept doubts about my attitude. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night after a game if I didn’t give it my all. I can win or lose, but I can only sleep well if the attitude has been adequate. Nothing pleases me more than the sensation of having given everything.

Q: Last season, Madrid gave it their all but Barça took the Liga.

A: Barça has a great team, fantastic players, and they were capable of winning the Liga. It was nice, competitive and decided by one point. That detail says everything. It was crazy. They won, and we can only tip our hats to them and offer them our hand in congratulations. Let’s see if now we’ll be stronger than they are. Their advantage is that the team is already formed and their system is in place, and we’re just starting, but we’re going in the right direction.

Q: You’ve won basically the same trophies with the national team as with Madrid.

A: It’s true. Two Ligas and one Supercopa for one World Cup and one Eurocopa. The truth is that I would like to win more titles with Madrid.

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Sergio Ramos: "Argentina have great players"

The Spanish defender praises the opponent and the greatness of Monumental Stadium

Realmadrid.com

Sergio Ramos is very excited about the friendly he will play with Spain against Argentina. He will face Real Madrid team-mates Higuain and Angel di Maria at River Plate's Monumental Stadium.

"It's always important to get together with our team-mates and play games like this one. It will be a very important test for us despite it being a friendly."

"We are proud to play at such an important venue as River Plate's stadium. We were lucky to face Argentina recently and we know they have great players."

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