Earlier this week, it was reported by Marca journalist Matteo Moretto that Real Madrid would trigger the buy-back clause for Jacobo Ramon. Whether that particular rumour is true or not is not for me to stay, but in some way, it doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not, because it should be.
Jacobo Ramon is a fruit that hangs lower than any fruit out there right now. Not only has he established himself as one of Serie A’s best defenders, but he’s also “one of us”, and, to be honest, where he’s from
actually matters less than the very important detail that his buyback is a mere €9 million.
Ramon is actually a bit more attainable than Nico Paz — though, I believe it would be smart to bring back both despite some of the tactical questions that would come with their arrivals respectively.
Ramon fits the timeline. He’s just 21 years old, now has Champions League and top-flight experience under his belt, and plays in a position Real Madrid are prolifically injured in. He’s an upgrade to Raul Asencio; but also too good to be as irrelevant as Asencio is. The logical thing to do would be to not renew Antonio Rüdiger, sell Asencio, and bring in Ramon to compete with Dean Huijsen, Eder Militao, and Ibrahima Konaté.
On some level, there’s also no rush to bring him back either. Real Madrid had the option to bring him back for €8 million this past summer. That number jumps to €9 million in 2027. If the club decide not to bring him back then, they’ll have one more option to bring him back in 2028. The number would jump slightly to €10 million — still a reasonable figure, and if they choose to wait until then, they could renew Rüdiger for one last rodeo to take advantage of his experience before he leaves for good.
Either way, there are options. While Nico Paz has to be either be brought back next summer (for €80 million, or essentially €20 million given they sold him for €60 million) or never; with Ramon, there is still time.
What may force Real Madrid’s hand to act sooner is if other clubs come swooping in, which is entirely realistic. Several Premier League clubs — including Chelsea, Manchester United, and Arsenal — are interested. If they push for a move, Real Madrid have a 50% sell on clause. They could immediately get half the profits (half of 40-60 million, which is the estimated range for Ramon), or they could bring him back and flip him for full profits.
It will be hard to find better bang for buck than Ramon. He’s already one of the best ball-playing center-backs in Europe and is in the 92nd percentile in forward pass completion percentage. He’s an excellent ball-carrier and physically imposing. Most recently against Torino, Ramón became the first player across Europe’s top five leagues to contest 12 aerial duels in a single match and win 100% of them since Ibrahima Konaté in 2023, per SofaScore. He’s also a threat on set-pieces, having scored three goals already this season. It won’t be long until Luis de la Fuente calls him up for the Spain squad.
Real Madrid have a gem on their hands here.
