Ramos is ready to face Real Madrid for only the third time in his career - and it'll be intriguing

The last time Sergio Ramos played against Real Madrid, he scored a spectacular goal, facilitating his move to Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Eighteen years on, he will be on the opposite side of Los Blancos once more.

Eighteen years later, half his life, Sergio Ramos is again facing the team with whom he spent the best part of his career, Real Madrid, in only his third encounter with them. Ramos had just turned 19 when he played the last of the two games he has played against Real Madrid in his entire career, both with Sevilla. An injury kept him from facing Madrid again two seasons ago in the Champions League's round of 16 while playing for PSG.

On 18 May 2005, in the penultimate matchday of La Liga, Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan welcomed the Galacticos in a match between 4th and 2nd in the league and shared four goals in a spectacular game. One of the highlights that day was a magnificent goal from the young Sergio Ramos, who struck from almost 30 meters to beat Iker Casillas. The visitors later took the lead with goals from Zinedine Zidane and an own goal, but Julio Baptista, another player who would end up at Madrid, scored the late equalizer.

Some who were closely involved in Ramos' signing for Real Madrid claim that this stunning goal, combined with another great performance in the reverse fixture earlier that season (a 1-0 victory for Sevilla at the Bernabeu), was pivotal in convincing Florentino Perez to bring the young footballer to Madrid for over $40 million. A sum that, as both insiders and outsiders would later acknowledge, did not trigger the buyout clause but was the result of an agreed-upon transfer. This controversial episode surrounding the buyout clause marked the beginning of a complicated relationship between Sergio Ramos and Sevilla's fanbase, particularly the Biris ultras. It was a story of ups and downs, with insults from one side and unexpected goal celebrations against Sevilla (he has scored no fewer than seven goals) that eventually strained the relationship almost to its breaking point. This nearly jeopardized his return to Sevilla as a prodigal son this year, a return that was eventually realized when almost no one expected it.

Since his return to Los Nervionenses in September, Ramos has played two league matches and two Champions League matches, all of them as a full 90-minute player. Right before his departure, he was benched during the match against Rayo Vallecano, which raised some concerns. Ramos wanted to play more, and the coach wanted to assert his authority, to the extent that he made a gesture in the dressing room that didn't sit well with the central defender and even surprised some of his teammates.

New Sevilla head coach Diego Alonso, for now, will give Sergio his legendary status so that, barring any unusual circumstances, he will start against Real Madrid. However, to complete the circle, there would be nothing more intriguing than Ramos scoring his first goal since returning to Sevilla against Carlo Ancelotti's team and seeing how he celebrates it. During his presentation, he did not make it clear whether he would celebrate a goal against Real Madrid.