I Would Have Played Tennis If I Wanted Individual Trophies – Sergio Ramos Claims

The Real Madrid captain was dismissive of The Best FIFA awards on Monday, although he defended the decision to include Marcelo in the Men’s World XI

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos says he would have become a tennis player if he wanted individual trophies as he delivered a dismissive appraisal of The Best FIFA Football awards.

Lionel Messi took the men’s prize for 2019 at the gala in Milan on Monday, beating Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk and Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo. United States star Megan Rapinoe won the women’s trophy.

Jurgen Klopp won The Best FIFA Men’s Coach award for guiding Liverpool to Champions League glory, edging out Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino.

Ramos was present at the ceremony after being named in the FIFA FIFPro Men’s World 11 for the 10th time in his career, but he would prefer to swap any individual accolades for team trophies, with Madrid having won only the Club World Cup last season.

“I’d prefer to not come here and for Real Madrid to win titles,” Ramos said following the event at Milan’s famous La Scala opera house. “If I’d wanted to win individual titles, then I’d have dedicated myself to tennis.

“When the team wins, we always win. It wasn’t a good season last year, but it’s a good sign that Real Madrid have players in the XI.”

There were some surprising choices in the FIFA FIFPro Men’s World 11, a line-up of the best players of 2019 as voted for by fellow professionals.

Ramos, Marcelo and Luka Modric, the winner of The Best FIFA Men’s Player prize in 2018, were included despite difficult campaigns for Madrid in 2018-19.

The inclusion of Marcelo was particularly questionable, the Brazil full-back having lost his place as undisputed first choice at the Santiago Bernabeu over the past year, starting just 21 La Liga games last season.

“He’s one of the best in the world,” Ramos insisted when asked about Marcelo. “Everyone is free to comment. It’s hard to please everyone.”

Ramos and Real, who sit joint-top of La Liga after five games with 11 points to their name, will be back in action on Wednesday whey play host to Osasuna.

A derby date with cross-city rivals Atletico Madrid will then take the Blancos to Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday.

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