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What's the story?
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has denied accusations that he deliberately injures his opponents and insisted that he has no intention to harm any player during duels in a game.
In case you didn't know...
Over the years, Ramos has been known to have poor discipline when it comes to challenges on the field and has often been accused of intentionally harming his opponents during games.
The 33-year-old holds the record for the most number of red cards (24) in La Liga history and is the player who has been sent off the most in the history of Europe's top five leagues. He also has a staggering 40 yellow cards in the UEFA Champions League alone, and only one red card stands between him and the joint record for the most ever received in the European competition.
The Spain international encountered the wrath of Liverpool fans when his infamous challenge on Mohamed Salah during the 2018 Champions League final ended the Egyptian forward's involvement in the game.
The Reds brigade even started an online petition calling on the FIFA and the UEFA to punish the Real Madrid defender, and it garnered an impressive 535,000 signatures.
The heart of the matter
Ramos believes he has been misjudged when it comes to such challenges and insisted that he always plays the game "with the right intention".
Speaking to Express Sport, he said,
"I respect everybody’s opinion and it is true that sometimes people misjudge me. When I play against a tough rival it is the most thrilling thing that can happen to me and something that I look forward to.
"When you have to go against a nice forward player or striker you have this nice duel and of course inside the right context where you don’t want to harm anyone, and with the right intention and the right heart."
The Spaniard concluded,
"It is a game, you go to win and try to defend yourself but always inside you have respect."
What's next?
Ramos recently equalled Iker Casillas' appearance record for Spain and scored in the side's 2-1 win over Romania during the ongoing international break. The defender will return to action with Real Madrid in their La Liga clash against Levante on Saturday.
