“May this year surprise us with unexpected opportunities and give us the joy of fulfilling our dreams. Let’s go for it!” These words on his social networks, just after his emergence in the race to buy Sevilla, are the only known response from the world champion regarding a news that was uncovered this Thursday and has created a great upheaval in national football. That a legend like him intends to take over the club he loves and where he grew up as a footballer has revolutionized the news of the Andalusian club.
The first impact of Ramos’ appearance in the race to purchase the Andalusian club is full of Sevilla DNA, a process that, apparently, was obviously going to end with foreign capital at the helm of the entity. Since Sevilla’s major shareholders decided to put their shares up for sale last September, there have been several offers that have reached the club. One of them, financed with American money, allegedly offered 3,500 euros for each of the 103,467 shares that belong to the four big Sevilla families that own the club. In order of importance, , with 28% of the shares; José Castro, current vice president, and the so-called Utrera Group plus the Alés family, with 23%; the Carrión family, with 15%; and the so-called American Group which controls approximately another 15%.
Sergio Ramos’ offer came at a time when it emerged that the American project lowered its initial offer after a Due Diligence (exhaustive audit) analyzed Sevilla’s financial situation. The reduction of 3,500 euros per share would have been considerable. However, this newspaper can confirm that one of the club’s largest shareholders has not officially received any offer from this American group for its shares nor was it aware of a withdrawal or reversal of the same.
It is also not easy to know Sevilla’s exact debt. Its president, , placed the net debt at 66 million euros and the club presented losses of 50 million in the last shareholders meeting on December 15. It is possible that the analysis of the entity’s accounts has revealed more losses.
In addition to this American offer, another one came from Sevillian businessman Antonio Lappi, which was notified on this occasion to all the club’s major shareholders and which was rejected by all of them because it was considered insufficient in the economic aspect. Lappi’s offer was 2,490 euros per share to be paid in two installments. 60% upon signing the share purchase and the remaining 40% after analyzing Sevilla’s accounts in depth. This Sevillian offer, called Third Way in the capital of Andalusia, remains waiting. Lappi was aware of the difficulty of a group being able to pay 3,500 euros for each Sevilla share without fully knowing the economic reality of the club.
Bayern and Monchi
The emergence of Sergio Ramos presents a new and important piece on the board. As highlighted yesterday Radio Sevillefrom Cadena SER, the camero has the money to undertake the operation. Although it has not been revealed which investors would accompany the still footballer. In the midst of great secrecy and in an operation that has many nuances, some large shareholders welcome the appearance of Ramos and others still do not have any official record of the presentation of an offer. Nor does the club offer the slightest official information about movements that, it is said, concern its shareholders and not the functioning of the entity itself.
With Lappi waiting and Ramos in the race, the option of Sevilla ending up in the hands of foreign capital seems somewhat more distant. If that were to happen, the mere presence of Ramos as a representative or spearhead of foreign capital would appease the spirits of the social mass of Seville. At least initially, although not completely, since the figure of Ramos still sows some division in Sevillismo after in January 2017 after being whistled by a good part of the field every time he stepped on the Sánchez Pizjuán with the Madrid shirt. Almost total reconciliation was forged in the 2023-24 season, when Ramos donned the Sevilla uniform for the second time after leaving for Madrid in the summer of 2005. The world champion, however, only lasted one season at Sevilla in the face of an increasingly unstable sporting and institutional scenario. Even Quique Sánchez Flores, his last coach at the Andalusian club, dared to define his goodbye in the summer of 2024. “I did not want to be a participant in a catastrophic situation,” said the coach.
With the possibility of a Ramos in the box in a role that has not yet been defined, there would be the intention to revive the model of the , with great players like Karl Heinz Rummenige in the management of the club representing the capital that owns the entity. A formula that, without a doubt, would alleviate reluctance about foreign money as Sevilla’s property. The fans fear that the arrival of funds with no ties to the city or Sevilla past could repeat the failed experiences of clubs like Valencia or Málaga. Ramos, who has not yet officially announced his retirement as a footballer after leaving Rayados de Monterrey, could not play for Sevilla or in the League as an owner because that is what Spanish legislation dictates.
“It’s a topic I don’t get involved in. I respect Sergio as a player and as a man; he’s a world-class legend,” said Matías Almeyda, first team coach, yesterday when asked about Ramos.
There is also one last important note in this whole mess of the sale of Sevilla and. Bound by Lappi’s candidacy, Monchi’s possible appearance in Ramos’ project gains strength in Seville. Ramos and the successful sports director are united by a professional relationship in the management of San Fernando, the Cádiz club from the town of Monchi’s origin and where he is now dedicated after leaving Aston Villa. Many San Fernando players are from the agency of René Ramos, Sergio’s brother, who is also an important figure in the world champion’s business.
Silence was Monchi’s response when this medium asked him if Ramos’ candidacy had contacted him. Sevilla’s recent success model was understood among the big families in the club’s government, always in sports management. He is responsible for those successes between 2006 and 2023.
With or without the Ramos and with Monchi in the rearguard, the sale of Sevilla has become a real gibberish. Although the transfer to foreign capital now seems further away.
