How did Real Madrid legend Ramos end up playing in Mexico?

Real Madrid fable Sergio Ramos playing successful the knockout stages of a Fifa Club World Cup mightiness not consciousness that noteworthy - but it is for Mexican nine Monterrey.

It amazed galore erstwhile the 39-year-old, considered 1 of football's top centre-backs, rocked up astatine Monterrey successful February.

With 5 goals - each headers and penalties - and a reddish paper successful his archetypal 12 games for the club, helium is already replaying each his top hits.

And the skipper has led them to the past 16 of the Club World Cup, wherever they play Borussia Dortmund successful Atlanta astatine 02:00 BST connected Wednesday.

"I'd similar to extremity my shot vocation connected a victorious note," he told Fifa, external successful the build-up to the tournament.

"That accidental to easy lend and play successful these kinds of competitions is what made my competitory tone footwear successful and convinced maine to articulation the club."

BBC Sport looks astatine however Ramos and Monterrey, who sacked a erstwhile Manchester City defender arsenic manager and replaced him with an ex-City manager successful May, are getting on.

Players bash not travel overmuch much decorated than Ramos. His spell astatine Real Madrid, wherever helium made 671 appearances, resulting successful 4 Champions Leagues and 5 La Liga titles. Plus 4 Fifa Club World Cups.

He was a cardinal cog successful 1 of planetary football's astir ascendant teams arsenic helium won Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 during his 180-cap Spain career.

But by February 2025 helium had not played competitory shot for astir 9 months, having ended his 2nd spell astatine Sevilla astatine the extremity of 2024-25.

And truthful came the telephone from Monterrey, who are besides known by their nickname of Rayados.

They are five-time champions of Mexico - and five-time Concacaf Champions League winners - including successful 2021, which meant they would vie successful this summer's Club World Cup.

Ramos accepted the offer, a one-year woody to go Monterrey's apical earner.

Rayados president Jose Antonio Noriega spoke to the Athletic, external successful February astir however they persuaded Ramos to join.

"It's a bundle deal. There is nary azygous aspect, Sergio is not convinced by conscionable 1 thing," said Noriega, a erstwhile midfielder for Monterrey and Mexico.

"We are a squad that fights for titles and that attracts Sergio. But surely that wouldn't beryllium enough.

"It's a superior squad with a bully estimation and the metropolis is nice. It's an accumulation of things that Sergio recovered fulfilling. Also the information that each twelvemonth determination are 5 championships and 1 of them this twelvemonth is the Club World Cup, which is special."

He added: "We knew determination was a marketplace for Sergio. We heard astir the involvement from San Diego FC, from immoderate clubs successful Brazil and immoderate successful Saudi Arabia.

"Let maine archer you a metaphor - it's similar erstwhile you privation to autumn successful emotion with a girl. The lone mode to marque a miss autumn successful emotion is to beryllium yourself. We were similar that with Ramos.

"We told him 'this is who we are, this is what we tin springiness you'. Fortunately, we understood each other."

Ramos took the 93 garment fig for a reasonably unsocial reason.

That was the infinitesimal of his header to unit other clip successful the 2013 Champions League last betwixt Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid - which his broadside went connected to triumph to implicit 'La Decima', their long-awaited 10th European title.

He went consecutive successful arsenic Rayados skipper and has already ticked disconnected each the things that defined him during his career.

In 12 games helium has scored 5 goals - which takes his vocation extremity tally to 145. Three headers and 2 penalties.

One of those goals was against Inter Milan successful this tournament.

He has besides managed a reddish paper for kicking an opponent.

"It was evident I couldn't permission this league without a reddish card," helium wrote connected societal media with a winking emoji.

He has besides been impressed by Monterrey's fans.

"The passionateness of the fans has truly blown maine away," helium told Fifa.

"I had lone ever visited the state connected holiday, truthful I had a antithetic perspective.

"When I archetypal arrived present and met the fans, I noticed that their cognition is precise akin to what you find successful Argentina. They person a heavy transportation with their team, and whether you triumph oregon suffer tin marque oregon interruption their day.

Monterrey are not considered 1 of Mexico's precise biggest clubs - with 9 clubs having won much titles.

But their mean attendance successful the Mexican league was higher than anyone other past season, 44,145.

Their owners are affluent - Femsa is simply a multinational institution based successful Monterrey who are celebrated for their portion successful the drinks industry.

Before signing Ramos, chap Spaniards Sergio Canales - who won 11 caps and played for Real Madrid - and Oliver Torres were already astatine the club.

Ramos, Torres, Jesus Corona and Lucas Ocampos person each played for Sevilla.

Not agelong earlier the tourney though, the absorption was connected the manager.

In April, midfielder Canales severely chopped his limb aft kicking a solid doorway pursuing an statement with Martin Demichelis.

The pursuing period Demichelis, the erstwhile Manchester City and Argentina defender, was sacked aft losing successful the Liga MX quarter-finals.

And successful his spot came Catalan Domenec Torrent, who was adjunct manager to Pep Guardiola astatine Barcelona B, their archetypal team, Bayern Munich and Manchester City earlier leaving successful 2018 to go a manager.

These person been Torrent's archetypal 3 games successful complaint of Rayados, draws with Inter Milan and River Plate and a 4-0 triumph implicit Urawa Reds.

In that Inter crippled they made headlines for an antithetic divided partition for a free-kick - wherever they had 2 walls and a spread successful betwixt successful beforehand of the goalkeeper.

Anything else? Oh yes, Monterrey and Scottish broadside Dundee announced a link-up successful November.

Dundee midfielder Fin Robertson trained with Monterrey for 2 weeks this summertime and determination were adjacent rumours helium could beryllium signed connected for the Club World Cup, but helium has returned to Dundee now.