Sergio Ramos wants out

Sergio Ramos is determined to leave Real Madrid.

The club's second first-team captain has no intention to rectify his decision to put an end to the brilliant career he has had with 'Los Blancos'. This is no hot-headed decision, but rather one that has been meditated, and from what MARCA has been able to discover, is irrevocable. Although it may break his heart, Ramos is prepared to do something that just a year ago was thought to be unthinkable: say goodbye to Real Madrid.

For Ramos this is a decision regarding his life. It's not a matter of negotiating for more money; the player needs a different scene, to make a fresh start somewhere else. The salary squabbles might have been the beginning of his thoughts to look for pastures new, but that is no longer an issue for the defender.

Months ago, player and club were locked in a struggle, negotiating how much the man from Seville should be paid for his services. The two parties were at loggerheads and no common ground could be reached. The abyss between what the player wanted and what the club was prepared to give was so great that the job of building bridges has proved impossible.

Now none of this matters, because Ramos no longer cares how much the suits at the Bernabeu are prepared to pay him. He feels that the poor relationship that he now has with Florentino Perez is irreparable and that the smear campaign against him and his agent and brother Rene, labelling them as mercenaries, has left a wound that will never fully heal if he stays on.

Moreover, the defender has witnessed the miserable time that his teammate and friend Iker Casillas has had at the hands of the Bernabeu faithful, and does not want to be subjected to any similar abuse. His mind is made up. He wants out.