Sergio Ramos-led consortium enters exclusivity talks over €400m takeover of LaLiga club

A consortium led by Sergio Ramos has entered into a period of exclusivity to take over his boyhood club, Sevilla.

Ramos‘ group are now in a three-month period of negotiation and due diligence as they look to complete a €400million deal.

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Sevilla are currently sitting 12th in the LaLiga table, although that’s just three points clear of the relegation zone, having only won seven of their 21 games so far this season, losing 11.

The Spanish club are in major need of an investor amid financial problems that are crippling them at the moment.

And it seems Ramos, who came through their academy and played for them at the beginning and end of his hugely successful career, could save them.

talkSPORT’s European football expert, Andy Brassell, has explained Sevilla’s current situation and provided further details behind 39-year-old Ramos’ approach to take over the club.

“This has been around for a couple of months,” Brassell started in an interview with talkSPORT.com. “He’s the front man for a consortium that are looking to buy Sevilla – and Sevilla need to get bought.

“I think with Sevilla, there’s probably not an understanding outside Spain of exactly how bad the trouble they’re in, the financial trouble they’re in.

“Monchi had his second spell there, which ended when he went to Aston Villa. It could be argued that some of the mess is created by the back end of his work, which wasn’t as successful as his first time there.

“They’ve been in dire financial straits for a couple of years now. They’ve purchased very badly over the last couple of years.

“The Victor Orta, formerly of Leeds, era as sporting director, wasn’t a particularly successful one either. And they’ve been left without anything to sell, really.

“I think they bet a little bit too hard on experienced players who are too expensive and they can develop and take them to that next level.”

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Brassell continued: “Now, if you look at players going back to the beginning of the 21st century and going forward, players whom they were able to really build into giants and sell.

“So, whether they be guys they picked up on the cheap, like Dani Alves, guys who came through the academy, like Sergio Ramos himself, or Ivan Rakitic, who got picked up for pennies on the pound and turned into giants. That network of scouting is not what it was.

“The club has been very poorly managed by Jose Del Nido, Jr., the president, who is the son of a previous president who was president at the start of the 21st century.

“And so they’ve been crying out for a bit of help, really. And I think if you look at it now, they clearly need someone to take over, someone to inject some cash.

“They need someone to appoint some decent management as well, because they’ve just gone through a load of different coaches.

“And I’m nowhere near finding an equitable solution.”

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Sevilla destined for relegation

Ramos has plenty of experience in winning trophies after picking up 22 titles, including four Champions Leagues, with Real Madrid.

However, if he does take over Sevilla, he’ll have to help sort things out at the other end of the scale in Spain.

“Really, if they don’t get relegated this season, that is a success,” Brassell said. “That is really as good as it is at the moment.

“I know probably quite a few people saw their beating of Barcelona going back into September and maybe got a false view of how good they are, because they had a good day and Barcelona had a very bad one.

“But this is not a good team, it’s not a good squad and it’s not been for a while. So, they really need genuine root and branch reform.

“The ultras have mounted a load of protests against the current direction going back a year and a half, two years.”

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Is Ramos the right man?

There may also be some doubts around Ramos’ €400m bid to buy Sevilla after some backlash after he re-joined the club in 2023.

Brassell explained: “Sergio Ramos isn’t necessarily the solution that’s going to be the great unifier.

“If you remember, when he came back to the club… I remember he repeatedly turned down 10 to 15 times what he earned at Sevilla the second time from clubs in Saudi Arabia to come back.

“But a lot of people felt that he was someone who left the club as quickly as he could the first time [in 2005]. A lot of fans associate him more with Real Madrid than they do with Sevilla.

“And those first couple of months were really quite uncomfortable with him, with some of the reactions towards him from ultras.

“So, the idea that he’s going to ride in on a white horse and everyone’s going to say, thank you for saving us. I’m not really sure that’s the case.”

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Sevilla’s solution

“Now, maybe we’re at a point where it’s like anyone but the current people running the club,” Brassell continued.

“But in terms of him being a figurehead, this is not like Gerard Pique, and obviously it’s a different ownership model, but it’s not like Gerard Pique becoming president of Barcelona or anything like that.

“This is someone who’s more famous and appreciated in the world at large than he is in Sevilla. So, there’s suspicion, definitely, amongst some sections of the fan base who’ve been done wrong before.

“If Ramos is to really make nice with the most faithful and passionate supporters of Sevilla, it’s going to take more than money to do it.

“Maybe long-term they could develop the stadium [Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan]. It’s good for them now. They could probably do with better corporate facilities, but in terms of what it is and what it represents to them, that’s the only thing that’s keeping them going.

“It’s a genuine cathedral of Spanish football.”