An emotional Sergio Ramos has broken his silence after Real Madrid announced that the centre-back will leave the club after 16 years.
See pictures of Ramos' goodbye to Real Madrid in the gallery above!
The 35-year-old will depart Los Blancos at the end of the month when his contract expires, a decision that was confirmed and announced by the club in a statement on Wednesday night.
Ramos, who was left out of Spain's 2020 UEFA European Championship squad, will leave the LaLiga club after 16 incredible years, during which he celebrated 22 trophies, including five UEFA Champions League titles.
In a press conference on Thursday, the defender spoke for the first time since the announcement.
"It's one of the most difficult moments of my life. The time has come to say goodbye to Real Madrid. I came from my father's hand (crying) from my brother, I was a child. Today, I have a wonderful family. I want to thank you," he said, according to RMadridInfo.
"I want to thank my coaches, my teammates, the club workers. To the fans, I would have liked to say goodbye in my stadium, at the Bernabeu. I will always carry you in my heart. I hope everything continues to go so well.
"22 titles with a lot of effort, sacrifice and dedication. A wonderful stage is ending, nothing will ever be like what I have lived here. A future opens with the desire to prove myself and hopefully I can win another title.
"This is not a goodbye, this is a see you later, because sooner or later I'll be back."
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Ramos then provided the public with more reasons behind his exit, revealing that he was offered a contract but was not aware that the offer had an expiration date.
"The club offered me one year with a drop in salary, I wanted two," he added.
"Money wasn't an issue, I wanted it for my family. Then I decided to accept the (one-year) offer, I thought was still on the table, but they said it was by now too late."
Click through the gallery below to see nine deals that were completed last week!
