Sergio Ramos says he takes the blame for Real Madrid’s “deeply disappointing” season, but insists the players will have no say on the future of Santiago Solari.
Ramos posed a series of questions to himself on social media on Monday in the hope that his answers would be “the most honest way” to tackle speculation surrounding the club.
Madrid beat Real Valladolid 4-1 in La Liga on Sunday, but Solari’s future as coach remains in serious doubt after consecutive league and cup losses to Barcelona, which were followed by Ajax knocking them out of the Champions League – defeats that all but ended the Club World Cup winners’ hopes of winning another trophy this term.
“As footballers we like to do our talking on the pitch, but this season is not turning out that way,” Ramos wrote.
“Recent events have been disastrous, and I’m not hiding. We are not hiding. We the players are primarily responsible and I, as captain, more than anyone.”
On Solari’s position, Ramos said: “It’s a decision that’s not ours to make and in which we never interfere. We have enormous respect for the position, and we always support the Real Madrid coach.
“These reflections are, without doubt, the result of a deeply disappointing season, but if success didn’t stop us, we’re not going to let defeat stop us. It’s our obligation to carry on, to work and to evolve.”
Ramos has been at the centre of Madrid’s problems in recent weeks.
Did you have a confrontation with Marcelo?
We have exchanges in every training session. It's part of working with pressure. But it’s just an anecdote like so many others that happen from day to day. @MarceloM12 is like a brother to me.
— Sergio Ramos (@SergioRamos) March 11, 2019
He was suspended for the defeat to Ajax after deliberately picking up a yellow card in the first leg and, sitting in the stands for the return, Madrid’s captain was then pictured filming a documentary as his teammates were beaten 4-1.
“Was the yellow card in Amsterdam an error? Absolutely it was an error, and I take the blame 200 percent,” Ramos wrote.
“Why did you record the documentary? There are certain commitments made, and it never remotely went through my head that the game could have turned out as it did. The recording itself was scaled down as the game went on.”
Ramos was reportedly engaged in a heated argument with club president Florentino Perez after the game, in which he countered accusations of unprofessionalism by attributing Madrid’s problems to bad planning at the top of the club.
Why did you travel to Valladolid?
Because I wanted to be close and support my teammates.
What's happening with the coach?
It’s a decision that’s not ours to make and in which we never interfere. We have enormous respect for the position and we always support the Real Madrid coach
— Sergio Ramos (@SergioRamos) March 11, 2019
“Did you argue with the President in the dressing room? Dressing room issues are discussed and resolved in the dressing room,” Ramos wrote.
“There’s no problem whatsoever, and everybody has the same interest: Real Madrid.”