page_title: Sergio Ramos
section_title: 2015–present: Captaincy and sustained success
hierarchical_section_title: Sergio Ramos / Club career / Real Madrid / 2015–present: Captaincy and sustained success
caption_attribution_description: Español: El capitán del Real Madrid Sergio Ramos desde el balcón de la Presidencia de la Comunidad de Madrid con la Úndecima Copa de Europa English: Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos holding the European Champion Clubs' Cup on the balcony of the Real Casa de Correos (Royal Post Office, seat of the President of the Community of Madrid) after winning the 2016 UEFA Champions League Final.
context_page_description: Sergio Ramos García is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for and captains both Real Madrid and the Spanish national team as a centre back. He has also played as a right back earlier in his career. Ramos is widely regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation, and has also received praise for his passing and goalscoring capabilities.
  After emerging through Sevilla's youth academy and spending two seasons with the senior side, Ramos moved to Real Madrid in the summer of 2005. Since then, he has gone on to become a mainstay for Real Madrid, and has won 22 major honours, including five La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League titles, becoming one of La Liga's top goalscorers from a defensive position. He played a crucial part in the build-up to all four UEFA Champions League wins, being named in the competition Squad of the Season each time. He also notably scored the equalizer in the 93rd minute of the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final.
  Ramos has been named to the FIFPro World11 ten times; a record for a defender, and the third-most all-time.
context_section_description: Ramos agreed a new five-year contract with Real Madrid in August 2015, tying him to the club until 2020. He was also made captain after the transfer of Casillas to FC Porto. On 8 November, Ramos scored his first goal of the season away to Sevilla, it was an overhead kick which forced him to get substituted due to landing on his injured left shoulder.
  On 20 December 2015, Ramos captained Madrid to a 10–2 victory over Rayo Vallecano, the club's highest scoring La Liga victory in 55 years. The following 13 March, he received his 20th red card for Real Madrid in a 2–1 win over Las Palmas, having earlier scored the game's opening goal with a header from an Isco corner kick. On 2 April 2016, he returned from suspension in a 2–1 victory against Barcelona at Camp Nou, where he was again sent off, receiving his 21st red card and fourth in a Clásico fixture.
  Real Madrid reached the 2016 UEFA Champions League Final, where they faced Atlético Madrid. Ramos once again scored in a final, putting Real ahead in the first half. At the time, he was just the fourth player to score in two different Champions League Finals after Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul and Lionel Messi. After a second-half equaliser from Atlético, he then scored a penalty in the shoot-out which resulted in Madrid winning 5–3; thus, he lifted his first UEFA Champions trophy as a captain. According to author Michael Cox, he also notably "tipped the balance of the game toward Real Madrid" by tripping Yannick Carrasco up and stopping a three-on-one counter in stoppage time, with 30 seconds remaining and the score 1–1. He was named man of the match by UEFA after the game. By winning the final, Real Madrid earned the right to play against the winners of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, Sevilla, in the 2016 UEFA Super Cup. Ramos ended 2015–16 with three goals in 33 games which was his lowest goal tally and the fewest matches he played in any season at Real Madrid due to ongoing injuries.
  Ramos started in the Super Cup, scoring Real Madrid's second goal of the match in the 93rd minute, and hence bringing the game into extra-time. Real Madrid were the eventual 3–2 winners, with Ramos being named man of the match. On 3 December 2016, he scored his fourth Clásico goal, an equaliser against Barcelona in a 1–1 draw at the Camp Nou in the 90th minute, extending Madrid's unbeaten run to 33 games. One week later, he scored another late goal, this time after 92 minutes, to help Madrid claim a 3–2 victory against Deportivo de La Coruña. On 15 January 2017, Ramos scored an own goal late in the game against Sevilla which equalised the score at 1–1 and eventually Real Madrid lost the match 2–1 in stoppage time, thus ending their unbeaten streak at 40 matches. A week later, he scored both goals in a 2–1 win over Málaga, registering his 50th goal in La Liga.
  On 11 February, in a 3–1 victory against Osasuna, Ramos's marked his 500th match with the club. In the UEFA Champions League Round of 16-second leg, Ramos scored an important equalising header against S.S.C. Napoli in a 3–1 away win as Real Madrid qualified to the quarter-final after winning 6–2 on aggregate. On 12 March, Ramos scored another late header winner for Real Madrid, this time against Real Betis at the Bernabéu in a 2–1 win, taking his goal tally to 10 for the season – scoring double digit goals in a season for the first time in his career. Ramos' winner put Real Madrid back at the top of the La Liga table. Real Madrid won their 33rd La Liga title, giving Ramos his fourth league title overall and first as captain. They went on to win their first league and European Cup double since 1957–58 season, as the team defeated Juventus in the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final. This also made Ramos the first man to captain a team to back-to-back European Cups in the Champions League era. His ten goals in 2016–17 made it the highest scoring season of his career.
  On 20 August 2017, in Real Madrid's first game of the 2017–18 La Liga, he received his 23rd career red card. It was his 18th in La Liga, a joint highest record. He went on to break that 
caption: Ramos posing with the European Cup, after the 2015–16 season
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