JAMIE JACKSON Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez and chief executive José Ángel Sánchez will hold talks with Sergio Ramos in China this weekend. There they will tell the central defender they do not want to sell him, despite his desire to leave for Manchester United.
Madrid are on tour in Australia, where manager Rafael Benítez insisted that Ramos was staying “100 per cent”. Perez is expected to join the squad from Spain and will take the opportunity to speak to Ramos.
The Spain international has said he wants to depart for Old Trafford but has two years left on his contract. Sources at the Bernabeu have not ruled out offering Ramos an improved contract, although that would represent a significant break from their position going back more than a year.
A new offer does not necessitate meeting in China, but it would reflect the urgency of the situation and Madrid’s desire to be seen doing everything they can to keep their captain.
No backing down
Ramos does not intend to back down. He will reiterate his desire to leave, insisting there is no turning back and that he wants only to join United, but he knows that if Madrid refuse to sell, he will have to stay.
It may not be that simple, and the outcome of the meeting is impossible to predict. There are five weeks to go until the end of the transfer window.
United manager Louis van Gaal has described transfers as a process, saying that “maybe Mr Ramos is in the process, you never know”. The club made an initial written bid of €40 million and reports in Spain have suggested there has been an improved offer.
United's position remains that they will not let goalkeeper David De Gea go unless Madrid agree to negotiate on Ramos, and the player could try to force Madrid's hand. Madrid would have to decide whether it is more important for them to have De Gea or Ramos.
That would depend on the faith Madrid have in their existing goalkeepers, Keylor Navas and Kiko Casilla, who has just joined from Espanyol for €6 million, in principle as a back-up.
It would involve making a judgment on whether it would be problematic to keep a player who has expressed a desire to leave and what the supporters’ reaction towards him will be, not least after a media campaign that attacked him as a mercenary – a campaign Ramos’s camp suspected of having come from the club.
The decision would also take into account the fact Ramos has two years on his contract, whereas De Gea has one. Both players want to leave. Madrid would be able to sign De Gea for free next summer, but the departure of Iker Casillas means they want the United goalkeeper this summer.
According to the newspaper El Pais, Madrid have signed a deal with De Gea that obliges them to pay him €15 million if they do not sign him before the end of this transfer window.
De Gea to play
Van Gaal expects De Gea to play for United against Barcelona on Saturday after the goalkeeper’s absence because of injury in the opening matches of the summer tour of America.
With only two more warm-up games until the season starts, the manager needs De Gea to find his match rhythm before Tottenham Hotspur’s visit to Old Trafford on August 8th.
De Gea had complained of a back problem and missed the opening tour match against Club America in Seattle last Friday. The goalkeeper went to hospital there for tests, but the precise nature of the complaint was not revealed.
Before Tuesday’s second match at San Jose Earthquakes, Van Gaal ordered De Gea to take part in the warm-up despite the Spaniard being unavailable to play. The match against Barca and Wednesday’s meeting with Paris Saint-Germain in Chicago are United’s final two games before the Premier League begins. Guardian Service
