The secrets of Sergio Ramos's "laboratory," a thoroughbred in Mexico: voluntary sessions, hyperbaric chamber, red light...

He made his debut on February 22nd after nine months without competing and with just a few days of preparation in Mexico , but Rayados gave the armband and almost the entire city to Sergio Ramos , number 93 on his back and in several tattoos all over his body, and the defender became a reference for the club from the first minute. Martín Demichelis , the team's coach at the time, had called him up for River Plate a few months earlier, but Ramos turned down the offer in search of the right destination. He found it in Monterrey, the second largest city in Mexico, and in the team that makes its debut today in the Club World Cup against Inter Milan . A Champions League rival and a favorite competition for Ramos, who won four of the old Mundialitos dressed in white, he has now spent the last year in his personal laboratory to endure the day-to-day life of football at 39 years of age .

Since that February 22, a lot has happened at Rayados, where Ramos shares a dressing room with old acquaintances such as Sergio Canales, Oliver Torres, and Lucas Ocampos . Demichelis is no longer the coach; Domènec Torrent , the Catalan manager who was Pep Guardiola 's assistant for years at Barcelona and Manchester City , is now in charge. "What I've done before, or what Sergio Ramos has done, isn't useful to me. We're starting from scratch . But he's a top player at the world level. I've faced him many times, and everyone knows he's a leader, a professional player who pushes his teammates, in a good way," the coach explained during his presentation. " We'll see ," Ramos himself responded cautiously when asked.

The team hasn't had a good season, eliminated in the round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions Cup and far from the best in the Apertura and Clausura tournaments, but Ramos has performed well. He scored four goals and hasn't let go of the armband, which he'll also wear tonight at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, even receiving a red card. It's a matter of tradition.

"That example is contagious"

His secret leads back to his great passion: horses. " He's a thoroughbred ," they describe him in Monterrey, where he showed up unexpectedly and voluntarily a few days ago to train ahead of the Club World Cup. The decision surprised the team at El Barrial, but the Camas native wanted personalized training sessions before the day the club set for the squad to return from vacation. "That example is contagious," they say on the team.

Since leaving Sevilla at the end of the 2023-24 season, he has trained as if he were part of a team, with morning and afternoon sessions in the gym and with the ball. Without a break , he has waited for the best opportunity and invested thousands of euros in people and tools to help him maintain his fitness: treatment with physiotherapists, hot and cold contrast baths, a Turkish bath, a sauna, a hyperbaric chamber... Things he has repeated day after day during his time in Madrid, Paris, and Seville . He has even added the famous red light that Marcos Llorente has made fashionable, a therapeutic technique used to stimulate cells and promote greater tissue regeneration.

Ramos, who has already won everything, still can't see the end of his career and wants to stretch out his footballing career as much as possible, but Monterrey was the first risk for him, after logical decisions such as signing for Real Madrid, then moving to Paris, and then returning to Seville to reconcile himself with the Sánchez Pizjuán . The case of Mexico, buoyed by the Club World Cup, the culture, and the lifestyle, was his first uncomfortable decision.

Increase security

" I'm lucky to have spent many years in Madrid , then in Paris and Seville, and it was an important step, a huge change in my life. And I like challenges and conquering new things," he said upon arriving at Rayados.

But for now, he's happy. His family hasn't settled in the country due to the difficulties of the school year, although they've visited him several times. He lives in a highly secure residential area, which is logical in a city of this magnitude that requires almost everyone with a certain economic level to travel in armored cars. He's close to the sports center, avoids strolling, something he couldn't do in Madrid or Paris, and when he goes to the stadium as a spectator, he's surrounded by several security personnel because there's no private corridor to access the box, and people surround him to talk to him, ask for photos, or simply touch him.

"Sergio is a unique, laboratory-bred case. He maintains a physiology rarely seen. His muscle mass, strength, intensity, and speed are top-notch, but I highlight his ambition and competitive nature," Demichelis said of him. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Ramos gave an interview to FIFA in which he stated that he wants to finish his final years of football "winning." "The team has a knack for playing in these types of competitions, and my competitive nature likes it," he explained, still serving as captain. "Leaders are decided by the groups, but because of my character, I've always had that knack for leading the team when it needs it, also based on my experience. I feel good about that," he concluded. Inter Milan, River Plate, and Urawa Red Diamonds await him at the Club World Cup.