Ramos also praised Real Madrid team-mate Gareth Bale
Tuesday 10 September 2019 11:38, UK
Sergio Ramos has lauded Paul Pogba as "one of the great players" and is hopeful the Manchester United midfielder will join him at Real Madrid in the future.
Pogba and his agent, Mino Raiola, both said during the summer he wanted to leave Old Trafford for a new challenge, but United refused to sell the France international.
United turned down an offer from Real of £27.6m plus James Rodriguez for Pogba, who returned to the Premier League club from Juventus for £89m in 2016.
"I think Real Madrid always has the door open for good players such as him," Ramos told the Daily Express.
Madrid spent over £270m this summer - the biggest outlay by a European club - as head coach Zinedine Zidane brought in Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, Eder Militao, Rodrygo, Ferland Mendy among others.
Pogba has played all four of United's Premier League games this season and Real captain Ramos believes the 26-year-old would bring balance to any side.
"For me, Pogba is one of the great players," Ramos said.
"He is different and he has shown his value at Juventus and now Manchester United.
"I think he brings balance to a team. He has a great offensive influence and he has this amazing physique."
Ramos has also praised Real team-mate Gareth Bale after a summer in which Zinedine Zidane said the Wales winger's departure would be "best for everyone" when it looked like he was close to leaving the Spanish capital.
Thibaut Courtois previously criticised Bale for not adapting to the Spanish way of life, saying he had been dubbed "the golfer" for the amount of time he spends on the golf course.
Ramos says players should be able to do what they want in their free time as long as they acted professionally, but added "it's up to each person to go home with a clear conscience or not".
He told reporters: "I think Bale's a great player and he's been really important for the club in the years he's been with us. You find many things in the press. Some are true, some are not. We live in this world and we have to try to be above all that.
"Regarding what has been said about Gareth, I think time puts everything in place. Regardless of what each player does in his personal life, I think it should be respected and not even talked about. We're free to do what we want with our free time.
"Of course, professionally, you owe yourself to a team, to a club, and you try to be as honest as possible. Afterwards, it's up to each person to go home with a clear conscience or not."
