Luis de la Fuente and Sergio Ramos (©Getty Images)
Luis de la Fuente and Sergio Ramos (©Getty Images)

He's not too old for Sevilla, but he is too old for Spain: De la Fuente won't call up veteran Ramos

Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 02.11.23. | 13:06

He's a great player, but I already have my team, says La Roja boss

Spanish national coach Luis De La Fuente put an end to the rumours of Sergio Ramos returning to the Spanish national team this Thursday. La Roja's manager confirmed his intention to rely on the current squad during the final stages of the Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Sergio Ramos, who retired from the Spanish national team in February 2023, seemed close to making a shock comeback. With a strong start to the season with his club Sevilla, the 37-year-old central defender had been the subject of numerous rumours in recent weeks. However, Luis De La Fuente dashed his hopes of returning to La Roja just a few days before announcing his squad for the matches against Cyprus and Georgia on November 16 and 19.

"I don't like to talk about private conversations, and I am very respectful of that. I think it was Sergio who talked about a possible return. But what is clear is that the way events have unfolded shows that I am counting on other players."

De La Fuente has had a successful start to his tenure with La Roja after being installed as Luis Enrique's successor in the wake of the appalling World Cup exit in Qatar. With seven victories in eight matches in all competitions, he has already qualified his team for Euro 2024 in Germany and has carried out a restructuring of his squad - in which there won't be any experiments this year.

"This does not take anything away from Sergio Ramos, who is a great player. But a manager has to start from an idea based on something. And I have a list of players who give me guarantees and confidence."

Rather than Sergio Ramos, who has made seven appearances this season with Sevilla after two mixed seasons with PSG, De La Fuente is likely to continue trusting players like Aymeric Laporte, Robin Le Normand, Nacho Fernandez, and Inigo Martinez in the defence.


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Luis De La FuenteSergio RamosSpainSevilla

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