Details have emerged about the furious dressing room row between Sergio Ramos and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez that saw the defender leave the club.
Ramos left Real Madrid in 2021 when his contract expired. The club captain rejected a one-year offer as he felt he deserved a longer deal.
The Spanish defender joined Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent at the same time as long-time adversary Lionel Messi, but injuries hampered his time in France.
Last summer he returned to La Liga with boyhood side Sevilla, and last month he returned to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu for the first time since leaving Madrid.
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Ramos's return to the Bernabeu was as big a story as Real Madrid's 1-0 win, especially as the Spaniard received a pretty muted reception from his former fans.
Despite spending 16 years with the club, Los Blancos gave no recognition of Ramos' service, as is often the case when club legends return.
Now it has emerged that a dressing room bust-up with club president Florentino Perez after a Champions League last-16 defeat to Ajax accelerated his departure.
Ramos was booked during Madrid's 2-1 win in the first leg, meaning he was suspended for the 4-1 second leg home loss at the Bernabeu.
Ramos admitted he got himself booked in order to serve the suspension when his side had home advantage, although he later denied that was the case.
After Madrid were dumped out of the competition 5-3 on aggregate, Perez waited for the players in the dressing room and slammed their attitudes.
According to Relevo, a heated argument broke out between Ramos and Perez.
The captain criticised Perez decision to sack manager Julen Lopetegui and replace him with Santiago Solari.
In front of the rest of the players and staff, he said: "The planning has been embarrassing."
Perez's response was "I’ll get rid of you," to which Ramos hit back: "Perfect. You pay me and I’ll go. I have given everything and I have broken my balls for this badge, for this club and even for you."
The relationship between the pair never properly recovered and Ramos left the club two years later.
Topics: Real Madrid, Sergio Ramos, Florentino Perez, Santiago Solari, Ajax, Zinedine Zidane, Champions League, La Liga
Alex Brotherton