Even a converted penalty by veteran star Sergio Ramos was not enough to prevent CF Monterrey’s exit from the Mexican playoff semifinals. Afterward, the Spaniard announced his decision.
Sergio Ramos signed with CF Monterrey in February, but the 39-year-old will leave the top Mexican club at the end of the year. The Spaniard made the announcement after a 3-2 defeat in the second leg at Deportivo Toluca, which meant the visitors were knocked out in the semifinals. Monterrey had won the first leg 1-0. Toluca’s better position in the main round was the deciding factor in Deportivo’s advancement. Sergio Ramos gave his team hope with a converted penalty to make it 1-3 (58th minute), and Roberto de la Rosa even reduced the deficit to 2-3 (75th minute), but that was all Monterrey could manage.
Toluca will now face Tigres UANL in the final of the Mexican Apertura championship – like many other Latin American leagues, Liga MX also holds two championships per calendar year.
32 competitive games for Monterrey
This marks the end of a chapter lasting just under a year for Sergio Ramos in the North American World Cup host country. The defender arrived in February after playing for his home club FC Sevilla until last summer. He has 32 competitive games to his name in Monterrey, including four in the Club World Cup in the summer. And there will be no more, because the Spaniard, who won the Champions League four times with Real Madrid, announced on Mexican television after the final whistle: “Yes, this is my last game.”
It is currently unclear where the 2010 World Cup winner and 2008 and 2012 European champion will go next. However, according to media reports, Sergio Ramos plans to join a European club in order to secure a place in Spain’s squad for the 2026 World Cup. This is despite the fact that he had already announced his retirement from the national team in 2023.