Rival captains now have the same goal

KATHMANDU: AUGUST 12 – Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos, captains of Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid’s El Clasico, a contract was coming to an end on June 30. Barcelona star and captain Messi was busy in the Copa America from Argentina at the end of the contract. Similarly, in another Real Madrid, when the contract was about to expire on June 30, captain Ramos was in talks with Real.

Both of them probably thought in La Liga’s season that this would be the last La Liga of a ‘competitive captain’ ‚because the players and supporters believed that their contract would be renewed.

Real Madrid have not offered their captain a one-year renewal. Ramos, who has been captain since 2015, wanted a two-year deal, but a disagreement broke out and a week before the deal was about to come to an end, he announced he would not be staying at Real. Two weeks later, he joined Paris Saint-Germain.

The story of Barcelona captain Messi is not much different. However, he was optimistic that the agreement would be renewed in Barcelona within a month of the agreement’s end. But at the last minute, Barcelona failed to reach an agreement with Messi. Soon after, Messi signed a contract with PSG. Due to this, the two legends who played against each other from ‘rival clubs’ for nearly two decades became co-passengers of the same team.

Long time rival

Ramos spent 16 years at Real. He won five La Liga titles and four Champions League titles, including the Copa del Rey and the Club World Cup. Under his captaincy, Real won the Champions League three times in a row. Messi also won all the titles to the club. He has won many from club football to individual and club. But‚ no longer two rivals will exchange happiness on the field as equals. So these two captains will have the same success in their common goal (PSG) now. Which is also challenging in itself.

Quiet nature versus ‘chaotic’ behaviour

In Barcelona, ​​Messi always showed his calm nature. He hardly got a red card. But the image of Ramos was just the opposite. He established himself as a chaotic player. His image was even worse in El Clasico. He received the most 26 red cards in his career, five in El Clasico. In which he received a red card for fouling Messi twice. Ramos had fouled hundreds of times over Messi. Due to this, these two became ‘enemies’ even personally.

These two players are the most played players in El Clasico. Messi has scored the most 26 goals in 45 El Clasico. Despite being a defender, Ramos has scored 101 goals in his career. He played 671 games in La Liga. He is also the only defender to complete the 100-goal milestone. Ramos won 22 titles at Real and Messi won 35 titles.

Now the same goal

Overall, the path of these two ‘competitors’ has now changed, but the goal remains the same. However, both of them want to win all the titles from PSG, including the Champions League.

With Messi signed, Ramos is proud to be playing with a world star player. “It’s a pleasure to play with some of the best players in the world,” he said.

That’s why PSG supporters now want to see a model of friendship and cooperation between the two ‘competing’ players.