Sergio Ramos reacts to shock Spain Euro 2020 squad omission: ‘It hurts but I have to be honest’

Sergio Ramos will NOT play for Spain at Euro 2020
Getty Images
George Flood24 May 2021

Sergio Ramos has responded candidly after being omitted from the Spain squad for Euro 2020.

The veteran defender will miss out on a major tournament for the first time since 2004 after Luis Enrique announced a 24-man squad for the summer that featured no Real Madrid players at all.

It is the first time in the history of World Cups and European Championships that no Real stars have made the Spanish tournament squad, with the likes of Dani Carvajal, Nacho Fernandez, Isco, Marco Asensio, Lucas Vazquez and Alvaro Odriozola also missing out.

But Ramos’ omission was the biggest shock of all, with the 35-year-old serving as Spain captain and having been a mainstay of the side for around 16 years, earning 180 senior caps in total - good for joint-third place on the list of the players with the most appearances in men’s international football and only four shy of the all-time record.

The omission comes after a torrid, injury-plagued campaign for Ramos, who was restricted to just 15 LaLiga appearances for desposed champions Real as they missed out to rivals Atletico Madrid in the title race and also tested positive for Covid-19 in April.

Responding to his Spain snub on Twitter, a measured Ramos - whose contract in Madrid expires this summer with his club future remaining uncertain - said: “After a tough few months and a strange season unlike anything I have experienced in my career comes the Euros.

“I have fought and worked every day, in body and soul, to be able to reach 100% for Real Madrid and the national team but things don’t always work out the way we’d like.

“It pains me not to have been able to help my team more and not to play for Spain but, in this case, the best thing to do is rest, fully recover and come back next year like we’ve always done. It hurts not to represent your country, but I have to be honest and sincere.

“I wish all my teammates the very best of luck and I hope we have a great Euros. I’ll be another fan cheering on from home. A big shout to everyone and #VivaEspaña and #HalaMadrid always!”

Explaining his decision to leave Ramos at home this summer, former Barcelona boss Enrique blamed the experienced centre-back’s recent persistent injury woes.

“I've not included Ramos because he's not been able to play much this season, especially since January he's not been fit enough, and at times not even training with the group at his club,” he said.

"It wasn't easy, but I called him last night (Sunday) and we had a difficult and tough conversation. I feel bad as he's a player who has always been at the top level and has a future with the national team.

"It's a decision that I've taken for the good of the national team and the group as a whole."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in