Sergio Ramos has the all-time LaLiga record for red cards (20) while playing for Real Madrid and picked up his final one for the club (No. 26) across all competitions against Manchester City in the Champions League in February 2020.
Since then, the 38-year-old has simply refused to mellow with age and has picked up another four red cards during his late-career stints with Paris Saint-Germain, Sevilla and now Liga MX club Monterrey, for whom he signed as a free agent in February.
Here are all 30 of his career red cards, and how he earned each one.
Editors’ note: This article has been updated since it was first published on Feb. 27, 2020
1. Espanyol 1-0 Real Madrid, La Liga, Sept.18, 2005
Ramos’ first career sending off came just a month into his first season with Madrid, with two second-half yellows cards seeing him leave the pitch early as Madrid lost at Espanyol.
2. Real Madrid 2-1 Olympiakos, Champions League, Sept. 29, 2005
A first straight red arrived 11 days later as Ramos reacted to a challenge from Olympiakos substitute Giannakis Okkas with the game already in added time.
3. Real Sociedad 2-2 Real Madrid, La Liga, Nov. 27, 2005
A bad tempered game saw both teams end with 10 men — and Zinedine Zidane hit a late equaliser after Ramos was sent off with his side 2-0 down.
4. Real Madrid 3-3 Villarreal, La Liga, May 7, 2006
Zidane’s last game for Madrid saw Ramos shown a straight red for using a hand to block a goal-bound shot, a decision the Bernabéu hierarchy managed to get overturned on appeal.
5. Real Madrid 1-1 Atlético Madrid, La Liga, Oct. 1, 2006
A first derbi sending off came for two bookings, the second for a foul on Spain international teammate Fernando Torres.
6. Sevilla 2-0 Real Madrid, La Liga, Nov. 3, 2007
Ramos’ relationship with his former club took another twist as he again picked up two yellow cards with Madrid already trailing 2-0.
7. Recreativo de Huelva 2-3 Real Madrid, La Liga, March 1, 2008
A feisty game at then-high-flying Recreativo saw Ramos given his marching orders for an elbow on ex-Liverpool striker Florent Sinama-Pongolle — having already been booked for a two-footed tackle earlier — then he insulted the referee on his way off.
8. Real Mallorca 1-1 Real Madrid, La Liga, April 5, 2008
Another pair of bookings in a key game as Madrid led down the final straight in LaLiga: a handball for the first, with the second coming for a trip on his then-Spain teammate Fernando Navarro.
9. Real Madrid 4-3 Malaga, La Liga, Nov. 9, 2008
A straight red for stepping on the chest of Malaga left-back Eliseu, who was on the ground, with the game at 2-2 just before half-time.
10. Atlético Madrid 2-3 Real Madrid, La Liga, Nov. 7, 2009
A second derbi sending off, this time for a professional foul on Sergio Agüero when he was the last man, with Madrid 3-0 up at the Vicente Calderón.
11. Ajax 0-4 Real Madrid, Champions League, Nov. 23, 2010
A “clever” second yellow for throwing the ball away late on with José Mourinho’s team already through to the round of 16 and a meaningless final group game still to come, which backfired when UEFA saw what he was trying to do.
12. Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid, La Liga, Nov. 29, 2010
With his team already humiliated at the Camp Nou, Ramos’ scything tackle on David Villa was followed by going through Lionel Messi from behind in added time, before he tussled with Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernández on his way to the tunnel.
13. Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid, Copa del Rey, Jan. 25, 2012
A second Clásico red card was awarded for two yellows — first dissent and then an elbow on international colleague Sergio Busquets, as Madrid were eliminated from the Copa del Rey.
14. Villarreal 1-1 Real Madrid, La Liga, March 21, 2012
A chest-high tackle on Nilmar, having already been booked, on a night when Mourinho was sent off for allegedly insulting the referee’s mother, and Mesut Özil and fitness coach Rui Faria also saw red.
15. Real Madrid 4-0 Celta Vigo, Copa del Rey, Jan. 2, 2013
With Madrid already easing through to the next round, Ramos kicked out at Celta midfielder Augusto Fernández, and picked up a five-game ban after calling the match official “shameless” for having “spent the whole game f—ing us.”
16. Real Madrid 2-0 Rayo Vallecano, La Liga, Feb. 17, 2013
Within just 18 minutes, Ramos had headed his team 2-0 ahead and been sent off for two quick yellow cards — the second harshly awarded for handball.
17. Real Madrid 4-1 Galatasaray, Champions League, Nov. 27, 2013
Scottish referee Willie Collum saw a professional foul on Galatasaray attacker Umut Bulut with the score at 0-0, again one of the more debatable reds of his career.
18. Osasuna 2-2 Real Madrid, La Liga, Dec. 14, 2013
His team managed to come from 2-0 down after Ramos was again booked twice — although Madrid got the first yellow overturned on appeal
19. Real Madrid 3-4 Barcelona, La Liga, March 23, 2014
Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid lost their grip on that year’s title race in a game of three penalties and three Messi goals — one converted after Ramos was adjudged to have knocked over Neymar from behind in a professional foul with the game at 2-2.
20. Las Palmas 1-2 Real Madrid, La Liga, March 13, 2016
A two year red-card drought was ended as Ramos picked up a needless second yellow for a tackle from behind on midfielder Momo.
21. Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid, La Liga, April 2, 2016
Freshly returned from suspension, Ramos got a fourth Clásico red for an ugly foul on Luis Suárez at 1-1 late on, but Cristiano Ronaldo still had time to hit a winner.
22. Real Madrid 2-3 Barcelona, La Liga, April 23, 2017
Another straight red for a lunge at Messi, who then punished the discretion by hitting a late winner for a result which almost cost Zidane’s side the LaLiga title.
23. Deportivo 0-3 Real Madrid, La Liga, Aug. 20, 2017
LaLiga’s opening day brought Ramos’ first red of 2017-18, with yet another second yellow coming with the game almost up, in an aerial challenge with Deportivo’s Borja Valle.
24. Athletic Bilbao 0-0 Real Madrid, La Liga, Dec. 2, 2017
Playing with a mask on his broken nose, Ramos was perhaps extra eager to defend himself, and both yellows were for raising his arm when jumping for headers against Athletic’s Raul Garcia and Aritz Aduriz.
25. Real Madrid 1-2 Girona, La Liga, Feb. 17, 2019
Ramos was sent off for two bookings, the first of which was earned in the 64th minute when he gave away a penalty after handling an Aleix Garcia shot. The second came in the closing moments, a high boot from Ramos deep inside the Girona penalty area brought a second yellow.
26. Real Madrid 1-2 Man City, Champions League, Feb. 27, 2020
Ramos went a whole year without getting sent off, but as Man City came back from 1-0 down at the Bernabéu in the Champions League round-of-16 first leg, the defender pulled back Gabriel Jesus when he was through on goal and picked up another red late in the game. That ensured he tied Zlatan Ibrahimović and Edgar Davids for the most red cards in UCL history with four.
27. Lorient 1-1 PSG, Ligue 1, Dec. 22, 2021
In only his third appearance for the Ligue 1 club since joining in July 2021, Ramos was shown his first red card in December’s 1-1 draw at Lorient. Ramos only entered the fray as a half-time substitute and yet still failed to make it to the final whistle after picking up two late bookings in the space of just five minutes. With PSG trailing and chasing the game, they were reduced to 10 men when Ramos picked up a second caution in the 86th minute for obstructing a run made by Lorient forward Teremas Moffi. A 91st-minute equaliser from Mauro Icardi was enough to plunder a draw
28. Stade de Reims 0-0 PSG, Ligue 1, Oct. 8, 2022
Ramos picked up two yellow cards in 30 seconds to see red for the 28th time. He landed his first yellow card after arguing with referee Pierre Gaillouste in the 41st minute, who went back to the Spaniard and handed him a straight red moments later.
29. Real Sociedad 2-1 Sevilla , La Liga, Nov. 26, 2023
After returning to his boyhood club, Ramos was sent off in his fifth league game of the season. He was initially shown a yellow card for lunging in on Brais Mendez in the 87th minute, but a VAR review upgraded it to a red. Just to compound matters, teammate Jesus Navas was also dismissed for dissent in the aftermath.
30. Pumas UNAM 1-3 Monterrey, Liga MX, March 17, 2025
Even when moving to a new continent, Ramos could not leave his old habits behind. He picked up his first red for Monterrey in only his fifth game for the Mexican side, lashing out petulantly and kicking Pumas striker Guillermo MartÃnez in the backside during a stoppage-time altercation.
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