Spanish team for UEFA Euro announced amid controversy over high-profile absences
Tuesday, May 25, 2021 @ 4:03 PM
TEAM manager Luis Enrique has announced his list for the UEFA Euro – due to be played a year overdue as a result of 2020's pandemic-related shutdown – and fans have reacted with everything from outrage to conspiracy theories as to why certain key names are absent from the roll-call.
Luis Enrique with the UEFA Super Cup in 2015 (photo: Wikimedia Commons)
One of these is Spain captain, Sergio Ramos – born in Sevilla but playing for Real Madrid – although Luis Enrique has been quick to clarify his reasons and silence the cynics.
Ramos – whose high-profile wedding was the talk of the media in June 2019 and whose wife Pilar Rubio has since given birth to their fourth son – had an operation on his knee at the beginning of 2021 and was unable to play in the final leg of the season with Real Madrid after suffering another injury and then testing positive for Covid-19.
“My admiration and recognition for Ramos have always been obvious, but you have to take decisions based upon what we consider best for the national team,” Luis Enrique insists.
“It was both a very easy and a very hard list to create, and when you make decisions it's normal that there will be people who agree with you and people who don't. It's evident that Ramos' absence is because he has not been able to compete, especially since January, in the right conditions.
“It was not an easy decision; on Sunday [yesterday] I told him personally. He's always been on the national team and will be able to carry on doing so in the future – it's a complicated decision but you have to do what's best for the group.
“I recommended to Ramos that he puts himself first – that he should be a bit selfish, even – and focus on making a full recovery so he'll be at his best for the future.”
In theory, this means if Ramos does not suffer any further health setbacks and is able to overcome his current injuries and keep his level of play and fitness up to standard, it seems there is no reason why he would not form part of the team for the FIFA World Cup next year.
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