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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Freddie Keighley

Sergio Ramos' tearful comments as Champions League throws up Real Madrid reunion

Sergio Ramos is facing an emotional reunion with Real Madrid after Paris Saint-Germain drew the 13-time European conquerers in the Champions League last 16.

The veteran defender, 35, left Los Blancos this summer after 16 years of stellar service during which he won five La Liga titles and the Champions League four times.

Ramos was unable to agree a new contract with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, who refused to hand him the two-year extension he was seeking.

The Spain legend was subsequently snapped up by PSG on a lucrative deal running until 2023 worth a reported €500,000 (£426,000) per week after tax.

Nonetheless, Ramos never hid the fact he would have preferred to stay at the Santiago Bernabeu and was overcome with emotion when the time came to say goodbye to Real Madrid.

Who will reach the Champions League quarter-finals: Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain? Have your say in the comments!

Sergio Ramos speaking as he says farewell to Real Madrid at a press conference (Getty)

"I would like to clarify that I never wanted to leave Real Madrid, I always wanted to continue here," he told a press conference in June, before firing a shot at Perez.

"The club offered me the chance to renew my contract, but with COVID and everything it kept being put off.

"Then in the last months the club made me an offer of one year, with a drop in salary. Money was never a problem, the president knew from my mouth that my issue was contract length."

Ramos insisted he is "never moved by money" while frankly discussing the failed contract negotiations, and also admitted leaving was "one of the most difficult moments" of his career.

He added: "I wanted two [years], just to be relaxed, for my family. I felt I had earned it. But it was not to be. A new stage will begin now.

"I was never told that there was an expiry date to the offer. I thought it was just part of the negotiation, as always has happened over 16 years. But then I was told time had run out."

Sergio Ramos signed a two-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain this summer (Paris Saint-Germain Football/PSG via Getty Images)

Ramos will be keen to get one over Perez as PSG host Real Madrid in mid-February before travelling to the Spanish capital for the second leg in early March.

However, he may not play a major role in either tie after a stuttering start to his career at the Parc des Princes.

The World Cup winner arrived at PSG with a calf issue and made just one appearance for the club - playing 90 minutes in a 3-1 Ligue 1 victory over Saint-Etienne in late November - before suffering a suspected recurrence of that injury.

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