Real Madrid news: Florentino Perez confirms that Sergio Ramos requested for a free transfer to China 

What's the story?

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has confirmed rumours that team captain Sergio Ramos received offers from China and even requested for a free transfer to a Chinese club.

In case you didn't know...

Reports of Ramos' possible exit from the Santiago Bernabeu have been doing the rounds recently, with many publications claiming that the defender's deteriorating relationship with Perez has prompted him to leave this summer.

Los Blancos endured a difficult season after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Zidane last year. The club finished at third place in La Liga, 19 points behind arch-rivals and champions Barcelona.

The Madrid outfit also crashed out of the Champions League, a competition they have dominated in the last three years, after a shock defeat to Dutch giants Ajax in the quarter-finals.

According to reports, the Spaniard is attracting interest from Manchester United, Liverpool, Juventus, and an unnamed Chinese club.

The heart of the matter

In an interview with 'El Transistor' on Onda Cero (via Football Espana), Perez confirmed that the reports are true but insisted that the defender will not be leaving anytime soon.

He said, "Sergio Ramos has informed me that there was an offer from China and that they could not pay a transfer fee because of rules there."

"Ramos has not been to my home and I have not been to his...he came to see me at the office and told me they had a very good deal from China."

“I told him that it was not possible for us to let our captain go on a free transfer, and the conversation was friendly - this is normal for players to do this."

"Sergio’s is currently the highest deal at Madrid, before that it was Cristiano and now we have a scale for our pay packet - the highest earner is based on merit, the same is true for Sergio."

"He did not ask that we release him now but I informed him that this plan for China was not possible, and the truth is that I love him like a son."

"Rene Ramos (the brother and agent of Sergio) can tell you everything, we have a very close relationship and Sergio is held in high esteem here."

"We will not allow him to leave, we refer interested clubs to his clause - there is nothing else to say."

What's next?

Real Madrid will return to action when they face Bayern Munich in the International Champions Cup on July 21.