Sergio Ramos Reportedly Handed Cristiano Ronaldo-Style Ban by Florentino Perez

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez wants full focus from his centre-back Sergio Ramos and has reportedly prohibited him from making what have become frequent visits to Seville.

That’s according to Al Primer Toque (h/t Sport), who claim that the defender has been asked to stay put in the Spanish capital like Cristiano Ronaldo, who was asked to curtail his regular jaunts to Morocco.

“This is nothing out of the normal, but Perez considers that the heavyweights of the squad need to set an example,” it’s noted in the piece. “Cristiano understand[s] the message and now will not go to Morocco, while Ramos also understands the message and will focus on recovering and keeping on going with the team.”

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

It’s also suggested that after siding with the squad by getting rid of former manager Rafael Benitez, Perez is keen for the biggest names in the group to lead by example.

Sport reported earlier this month that according to El Espanol, Perez had asked Ronaldo to “end his escapes to Morocco” after some disappointing form. It’s noted by Sport that, according to Informalia, the 30-year-old was flying to the country in the afternoons from Monday to Thursday before returning to the Spanish capital later in the evening, visiting his close friend Badr Hari.

As we can see here courtesy of Squawka Football, despite not winning any major honours in 2015, both Ramos and Ronaldo were named in FIFA’s Team of the Year:

DANI POZO/Getty Images

Ramos signed a new deal with Los Blancos in the summer and was named as the club captain. It’s not been the best year for him in terms of performances, but the centre-back is a player who has stood up to be counted on many different occasions when donning the all-white jersey and is an inspirational figure to his team-mates.

Ronaldo’s influence also remains huge. Although he’s not the same player who joined the Santiago Bernabeu side in 2009, he remains the most rounded goalscorer in world football. In what many would say has been an underwhelming campaign for the Portuguese, he’s still netted an impressive 27 goals already.

However, as noted here by Cristian Nyari of FCB Media, the goals being scored by Ronaldo aren’t necessarily vital ones:

"

Wow. Cristiano Ronaldo's goals this season only won Real Madrid 2 points this season. Says a lot of what we've come to expect of him.

— Cristian Nyari (@CrisNyari) January 25, 2016"

Still, it’s understandable that Perez wants to see these two club stalwarts present a united front. Zinedine Zidane is a manager the club have high hopes for, but he’s untested at this level; both Ramos and Ronaldo being around the club all the time is likely to be a massive boost for him and show the way for the rest of the squad too.

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

Ramos hasn’t featured for the team since a win over Deportivo La Coruna on Jan. 10 and will be keen to return to the squad as soon as possible. If Real are to get back on track in the title race and go far in the Champions League this term, his impact, both as a defender and as a leader, will be important.