Real Madrid have initiated contract negotiations with club-captain Sergio Ramos as they aim to extend his deal beyond next summer, a report from ESPN claims.
The Spaniard has been with Los Blancos since 2005 and he has made over 650 appearances during his time at the club, winning five La Liga titles and four Champions League crowns.
He will turn 35 by March next year, but continues to remain an undisputed choice at the heart of the defence and recently scored in the victories over Barcelona and Inter Milan.
According to ESPN, Los Blancos postponed contract talks with Ramos mutually earlier in June as they were assessing the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Spanish champions did not make any high-profile signings during the course of the summer transfer window and it now appears that they have entered negotiations with Ramos over a new deal.
The former Sevilla graduate is understood to favour a fresh three-year extension which would keep him at the Bernabeu until his 38th birthday and Los Blancos don’t have any objection to the contract length.
However, it is unclear whether they would tie up Ramos to a long-term deal or extend his stay at the end of every season in the form of one-year rolling contracts.
Ramos has been a wonderful servant for Los Blancos over the past 15 years and besides his solid defending, he has also scored exactly 100 goals for the club across all competitions.
In recent years, he has had the added responsibility of taking penalties and has been consistent with 16 of his 17 spot-kicks in the league finding the back of the net. His only miss came during the 2017/18 campaign.
As such, he has shown little signs of slowing up in recent years and it won’t come as a surprise, if he sees out the remainder of his career with the reigning La Liga champions.
Meanwhile, at the international level, he holds the all-time appearance record for Spain with 175 caps and has regularly talked up the desire to represent the nation at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com