Real Madrid’s resurgent La Liga run skidded to a halt as they fell to a shock 2-1 defeat at home to struggling Girona on Sunday in which Sergio Ramos was sent off in added time to increase the defenders stats to all-highest in many dimensions.
The defender had been booked when he conceded the penalty, and received a second caution when he attempted an overhead kick but caught Girona’s Pedro Alcala.
The red card was the 20th of Ramos’ career in La Liga and 25th of his career, more than any other player in the Spanish top flight.
Whats’s more astonishing is that Ramos already held the record for the most red cards in La Liga history, but he is now the most sent-off player in the history of Europe’s top five leagues a record previously held by Former Bordeaux, Nice and Marseille midfielder Cyril Rool with 19 red cards in Ligue 1.
However, Ramos is now the outright holder after being shown his 20th red in La Liga.
His other red cards have been in the Champions League (3) and Copa del Rey (2) – but interestingly, he has never been sent off in 161 caps for Spain.
So it's 2AM and I'm writing an article on Sergio Ramos and his love with red cards and his multi layered legacy he will leave behind! #HalaMadrid #2AM pic.twitter.com/vMaDQyYhck
— Rania ❤ (@rania_elhilali) February 18, 2019
His 25th dismissal for Real Madrid means he has been sent off at least twice more than any other player in the club’s history – Fernando Hierro and Guti follow with 12 and 10 respectively.
The Premier League record stands at just eight red cards, shared by Duncan Ferguson, Patrick Vieira and Richard Dunne.
Ramos had been quoted as telling reporters he would “be lying if I said I didn’t force [the booking]”, but later posted on social media that he had “not forced the card”.
It was another controversial moment for the Real captain, who who faces a UEFA investigation into whether he deliberately got booked late on in Wednesday’s 2-1 win at Ajax in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie – to receive a suspension now and not later on in the competition.