Sergio Ramos is swapping the familiar comforts of the Spanish capital for its French counterpart.
The Spanish central defender has signed a two-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer, the club announced Thursday.
Ramos joins PSG after his contract expired at Real Madrid, where the former Spain international captured 11 domestic honors and the Champions League on four occasions as part of a celebrated 16-year spell.
The 35-year-old defender left Real following a breakdown in negotiations between himself and the Spanish giants.
“In recent months, the club made me an offer of one year with a lower salary, and I want to emphasize that money was never a problem,” Ramos told reporters at his farewell press conference. “I wanted two years for continuity, for me and my family. There was never a financial issue.
“When I finally decided to accept the offer of one year and a lower salary, I was told the offer had an expiration date that I was not aware of.”
Ramos’ addition marks PSG’s third significant summer signing in the wake of a shocking second-place finish to Lille in Ligue 1.
Georginio Wijnaldum made the switch on a free transfer after the Dutch midfielder’s Liverpool terms lapsed, and the team also lured full-back Achraf Hakimi from Inter Milan for a reported €60-million fee with an additional €8 million in add-ons.
PSG are also expected to seal a free transfer for former AC Milan shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma following the Italian international’s participation at Euro 2020.
Sergio Ramos is joining Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer, according to RMC Sport correspondent Mohamed Bouhafsi.
The 35-year-old reportedly agreed to a two-year contract with PSG on Thursday, one day after his deal with Real Madrid officially expired. He spent the last 16 years with Madrid and captained the club for the past six seasons.
Manchester City and Bayern Munich were reportedly monitoring the situation, but any hopes they may have had of a breakdown in talks seemingly evaporated Thursday.
Ramos, who’s never played club football outside of Spain, said in June that Madrid withdrew their offer of a one-year extension before he could accept it.
“In recent months, the club made me an offer of one year with a lower salary, and I want to emphasize that money was never a problem,” he told reporters at his farewell press conference. “I wanted two years for continuity, for me and my family. There was never a financial issue.
“When I finally decided to accept the offer of one year and a lower salary, I was told the offer had an expiration date that I was not aware of.”
Ramos is expected to become PSG’s third free-agent signing of the summer after goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum.
Les Parisiens are also reportedly closing in on the acquisition of full-back Achraf Hakimi from Inter Milan for around €70 million.
Ramos made 671 appearances for Madrid, winning 22 titles.
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line was always going to have a tough learning curve in the 2021 season.
Once a stalwart unit in the NFL, it was left in flux by the departures of left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, center Maurkice Pouncey and left guard Matt Feiler. The Steelers have just two returning starters — including one in Chuks Okorafor, who will get the first crack at moving across the line for the left tackle job.
But that learning curve instantly got even more challenging with right guard David DeCastro’s release last week.
Even if the personnel isn’t the same, the unit could still take a step forward from last year’s 51% pass block win rate, which ranked 28th in the NFL and last among the 14 playoff teams, thanks to the philosophy and techniques of new offensive line coach Adrian Klemm and leadership from young players like Zach Banner.
Klemm, who was promoted after serving as assistant OL coach for two seasons, stressed the need to add players with a physical, aggressive mentality during the draft, and Pittsburgh selected center Kendrick Green and offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr. in the third and fourth rounds, respectively.
“Some people just naturally have that — as a coach you can be demanding of it, but in critical moments of a game when man measures man, whoever you truly are is going to come out,” Klemm said after the Steelers picked Green. “If you have that dog in you, that wolf in you, you are going to continue to do that in critical moments of the game. I love it when I find a guy that I don’t have to bring that out of.”
And Klemm isn’t just relying on the players to self-start their aggression. He’s infusing it in team meetings and drills.
“I feel like there’s a little more intensity with [Klemm],” second-year guard Kevin Dotson said during OTAs. “… It’s more aggressive, more aggression. Even the way we come off the blocks. There is no more getting behind people and blocking. It is more going down the middle of them. Even the verbiage he uses in meetings is more aggressive. It’s not just ‘get to the block.’ It’s like ‘run through his face’ or other stuff that I really can’t say. He’s using more aggressive terms, and I feel like that pushes our mindset in that way.”
Players like Banner, who spent the bulk of last season learning from Klemm during his ACL rehab, can already see a difference.
“We call that necessary violence,” Banner said of Klemm’s coaching technique. “… There’s that type of thug mentality that we have when we put our helmets on. It’s still professional, still structured, but when I look at my guys going out in the tunnel, I’m looking at them and saying, ‘Let’s F’ing go.’ We have that now as a coach.
Protecting Ben Roethlisberger was a challenge in 2020 as the Steelers’ 51% pass block win rate ranked 28th in the NFL and last among playoff teams. Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire
“… That killer instinct doesn’t come naturally for some guys. Sometimes it has to be coached. So when you have that technician and he’s giving the overall job, he’s rewriting our bible that we live by, the technique, the fundamentals, things that we’re coming out and doing. That’s something he does. … Some people might cower from that type of pressure and coaching, but our room is full of guys who love that and work well with that.”
Klemm, who presents as a soft-spoken guy, transforms when he instructs his unit, channeling energy and passion he learned as an offensive lineman with the
The nominations for the 2021 ESPYS are full of NFL players. Cast your votes today.
Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo tied former Iranian striker Ali Daei’s record of 109 goals in men’s international soccer with a pair of penalties in Wednesday’s Group F finale against France.
Ronaldo also added to his own benchmark at the European Championships, bringing his tournament total to an unparalleled 14 tallies.
Canadian women’s star Christine Sinclair holds the all-time international scoring record with 186 goals in 297 matches.
Daei set the men’s record in an astonishing 149 appearances – 29 fewer than Ronaldo needed to hit the milestone. However, Daei played the majority of his international matches in the less competitive Asian Football Confederation.
#
Player
Country
Goals
Matches
1
Ali Daei
Iran
109
149
2
Cristiano Ronaldo
Portugal
109
178
3
Mokhtar Dahari
Malaysia
89
143
4
Ferenc Puskas
Hungary/Spain
84
89
5
Godfrey Chitalu
Zambia
79
111
Ronaldo entered his fifth European Championship with the competition’s scoring record and the all-time men’s mark within view. The forward was previously tied with three-time Ballon d’Or winner Michel Platini on nine goals at the Euros.
The 36-year-old leads this year’s tournament with five goals, including three penalties.
