Madrid skipper Ramos stands up to take the blame

Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos on Monday stepped forward to take the blame for the club's embarrassing dribble towards the end of the season. Madrid are third in La Liga, 12 points behind pacesetters Barcelona with 11 games remaining. 

Sergio Ramos holds the record for the most yellow and red cards in La Liga history. AFP/Gabriel Bouys

They lost to Barcelona in the semi-final of the Copa del Rey and went out in the last 16 of the Uefa Champions League after winning the trophy for three consecutive seasons.

"As footballers we like to do our talking on the pitch but this season is not turning out that way," Ramos wrote on social media.

"Recent events have been disastrous and I'm not hiding. We are not hiding. We the players are primarily responsible and I, as captain, more than anyone."

Since the Champions League exit, Ramos, 32, has been singled out for embodying the arrogance that has enveloped the club.

Hubris

He boasted about deliberately picking up a second yellow card - his third of the tournament - at the end of the 2-1 victory at Ajax in the first leg, so that he could serve the mandatory one match ban during the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu and have a fresh slate for the quarter-finals.

Uefa took a dim view of such game management and handed him an extra one game ban for his impertinence.

It was ultimately irrelevant. Ajax won the second leg 4-1 to advance to the last eight for the first time since 2003.

As his teammates lurched from defensive crisis to catastrophe during the second leg on 5 March, Ramos was seen in the stands being filmed for a documentary.

"Was the yellow card in Amsterdam an error? Absolutely it was an error and I take the blame 200 per cent," Ramos wrote.

Of the recording he added: "There are certain commitments made and it never remotely went through my head that the game could have turned out as it did. The recording itself was scaled down as the game went on."

Madrid are well placed to finish in the places leading to next season's Champions League. However the question remains as to who will lead them in the tournament. Santiago Solari has a contract until 2021 after taking over from Julen Lopetegui last October.

But following the spectacular explosion of the club's ambitions, names such as Antonio Conte, Massimo Allegri, Mauricio Pochettino and José Mourinho have been linked with the post.

"It's a decision that's not ours to make and in which we never interfere," added Ramos.

"We have enormous respect for the position and we always support the Real Madrid coach.

"These reflections are, without doubt, the result of a deeply disappointing season but if success didn't stop us, we're not going to let defeat stop us. It's our obligation to carry on, to work and to evolve."