The history of Ramos in the National Team is already in the past. The promotion of Luis de la Fuente to the Absolute to occupy the position of Luis Enrique had aroused optimism in the PSG center-back, that he trusted that the new national team would give him the opportunity to return to the captaincy of Spain. It was his last chance. However, those hopes were dashed this Thursday when Ramos received a call from Luis de la Fuente at mid-morning. The Federation had already notified the former captain that the coach was going to contact him. The coach understood that the greatness of the Andalusian defender deserved a talk to personally communicate his decision: “I’m not going to count on you.” That sentence summarizes the talk that both had for a few minutes. Luis De la Fuente has had this gesture with the PSG player out of deference and respect for his figure, but he also wanted to shut down the noise that speculation about the presence or not of Ramos could cause in each call.
Luis de la Fuente’s decision comes after many conversations and hours of reflection on the suitability of opening the door of the National Team to Ramos again. The coach has listened to the opinion of all the members of his coaching staff, as well as that of the team’s management. After gathering all the points of view, he has been in charge of saying the last word. Next Friday he will give the squad list for the two qualifying matches for the Eurocup (against Norway and Scotland). and Ramos was not going to be in it. Luis de la Fuente has made the decision several days ago, but he wanted to wait for the moment that he considered most suitable for all parties.
The coach understands that Ramos is part of the most glorious stage of the National Team, but the future passes by a new generation. Luis de la Fuente believes that the PSG central defender could still be useful in the National Team in the short term, but his new project will be built on a new generation led by Pedri, Gavi, Oyarzabal, Zubimendi… The coach wanted to be pragmatic and start his career firmly.
This has been the second “no” of Luis de la Fuente to Ramos after his refusal to take him to the last Olympic Games. The central defender had offered to be part of the team that was going to participate in the Olympic event. However, the coach preferred to continue trusting the players who had qualified, since he considered that these footballers were the ones who deserved the prize of going to Tokyo.