Sergio Ramos spent 16 years at Real Madrid and left them in June 2021, when talks with club president Florentino Perez broke down: Ramos wanted two years, Madrid would only offer one, in line with their policy for players over 30.

He was 35 then and has kept playing since. Two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain brought two Ligue 1 titles, then came a season back at boyhood club Sevilla in 2023-24 and a year at Mexican side Monterrey, which ended in December 2025.

He turned 40 in March 2026 and has not announced his retirement.

Sergio Ramos has exceeded expectations both on and off the field and has held several records like being the only defender to score in 17 consecutive La Liga seasons.

Here is what defines his career — the trophies, the nickname, the red-card record that no one in La Liga has come close to, and the tattoos.

How many titles has Sergio Ramos won in his career?

Sergio Ramos arrived at Real Madrid in 2005 as a 19-year-old from fellow La Liga side Sevilla. Over the 16 years with Real Madrid, the defender went on to win every trophy there ever is to be won in European football. 

At Real Madrid he won five La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles, four Spanish Super Cups, four FIFA Club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups and two Copa del Rey — 5 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 3 + 2, which is where the figure of 22 comes from. Only a handful of players have ever won more Champions League titles. 

It was, in fact, his goal against Atletico Madrid in the 2014 UEFA Champions League final which marked a comeback win for Los Blancos. Ramos was at it again, this time in the 2016 UCL final against Atletico once more. This time, Real won the title on penalties. This made him the only defender to score in two different European Cup finals in the UEFA Champions League era.

Known for his sheer goal-scoring knack despite being a defender, Ramos has scored in the final of the UEFA Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup. In all, Ramos won 22 trophies with Real Madrid.

He added three more at Paris Saint-Germain — the Ligue 1 titles of 2021-22 and 2022-23, plus the 2022 Trophée des Champions.

And there is the international half, which the club record tends to overshadow: Ramos won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the European Championship twice, in 2008 and 2012. He is Spain’s most-capped player of all time on 180 appearances, and he was never sent off in any of them. His last cap came in March 2021; he was left out of the Euro 2020 squad that summer and has not played for Spain since.

Who are the managers Sergio Ramos has played under?

Ramos was named as one of Real Madrid’s four captains ahead of the 2009-10 season and his legacy as captain comes down to the fact that he has played under as many as 12 different managers at Real Madrid.

The list includes Vanderlei Luxemburgo, Juan Ramos Lopez, Fabio Capello, Bernd Schuster, Juande Ramos, Manuel Pellegrini, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Rafael Benitez, Zinedine Zidane (twice), Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari.

What is Sergio Ramos’ nickname?

While most of Real Madrid’s fans call him El Capitano, Sergio Ramos was, in fact, nicknamed Schuster – after former Germany great Bernd Schuster – while growing up. Ramos used to play as a striker in his childhood and he eventually got to play under the German during his brief stint at Real Madrid between 2007 and 2008.

While this was his nickname in the footballing circle, Sergio Ramos is called “Cuqui” in his family. The term Cuqui translates to “cutie” or “sweetie” and his Real Madrid teammates have since picked up the name.

While captain is Spanish roughly translates to capitán, Ramos earned the title of ‘El Capitano’ from the fans which was previously held by former captains like Francesco Totti of AS Roma and Paolo Maldini of AC Milan.

Sergio Ramos’ red card record – the most in league’s history

Sergio Ramos has earned the reputation of being a rugged defender. His 20 red cards in La Liga are the most in the competition’s history, and five of his dismissals came in El Clasico fixtures.

The career figure is higher than most people remember. By March 2025 he had been sent off 30 times in senior football — 26 of them at Real Madrid, the last of those against Manchester City in February 2020, plus two at Paris Saint-Germain, one at Sevilla and one at Monterrey. That made him the first player this century to reach 30. See where that puts him on the all-time list. 

His most recent red card in a Clasico fixture came in Barcelona’s 3-2 win over Real Madrid in April 2017.

Where is Sergio Ramos now?

Ramos left Monterrey as a free agent in December 2025, after a year in Liga MX that ended in a play-off semi-final defeat to Toluca. He said at the time that he did not intend to retire, and through early 2026 he was linked with clubs in France, Italy and Germany without signing for any of them.

The bigger story of 2026 was an attempt to buy the club where he started. Ramos fronted an investment group bidding for a majority stake in Sevilla, and an agreement in principle was reached in May 2026 — but it was never completed, and the deal fell away later that month. Spanish rules bar an active player from holding an ownership stake in a club in the same league, so the bid and a playing return to Sevilla were always mutually exclusive.

Sergio Ramos’ tattoos and their meaning

Sergio Ramos loves tattoos. He has more than 42 designs inked on his body, four of which are on his fingers. Those are numbers 35, 32, 19 and 90+. 35 and 32 are his squad numbers with Sevilla, 19 is the number he wore when he won his first national cap for Spain and 90+ represents the stoppage-time goal he scored in the 2014 UEFA Champions League final. In addition to that, he also has imprinted his cultural roots, FIFA World Cup and Champions League trophies and the names of his family members amongst others.

Featured photo: AFP / Gabriel Bouys