According to reports in Spain, Real Madrid has requested Sergio Ramos to take a pay cut to ease the club’s burden of paying Gareth Bale’s hefty wages. Ramos’ contract expires in the summer, and there has been no headway in discussions over a new deal.
Ramos’ departure will be a bitter blow for the Spanish giants, as he’s still comfortably the team’s best defender. Real Madrid’s precarious financial situation has not exactly helped matters, as they apparently cannot afford to continue paying Ramos his current salary.
The Covid-19 pandemic has done significant damage and is reportedly the reason why they are resigned to the fact that they will have to hand Gareth Bale his enormous €30m annual salary for another year.
Bale is currently loaned to Tottenham Hotspur for the season, but Madrid will need to cover the £26m salary that they will owe him for the next year.
Last summer, Real Madrid were desperate to get rid of Gareth Bale after he was effectively frozen out of the squad by Zinedine Zidane. The club were unable to find another that was willing to take the Welshman off their hands due to his huge €650,000 per week wages.
Tottenham agreed to take Bale on loan on the condition that Real Madrid would pay half his wages. Real Madrid agreed to do so in hopes that a move back to the Premier League would see Gareth Bale rejuvenate his career, which could lead to a permanent move to either Tottenham or some other club.
Next season if Bale is still with Madrid, it could have a serious impact on the dressing room. Despite the fact that Ramos has played 668 games for the club while Bale has been injury-prone throughout his spell in the Spanish capital, they both share a similar salary.
Manchester United, who were linked with Ramos in the past, could reignite their interest in the Spain captain if he leaves Madrid, coming summer.