Sergio Ramos becomes Spain's most-capped player ever

Spanish defender Sergio Ramos, facing Norway in qualifying for the Euro-2020 (1-1), celebrated Saturday his 168th selection under the jersey of "Roja", becoming the player with the most appearances with the Spanish team in front of his former teammate Iker Casillas (167).

The captain of Real Madrid (33 years) was tenured in central defense for this qualifying match played in Oslo, fourteen years after his first selection in 2005 in a friendly against China (3-0).

And even if this match ended with a draw conceded in extremis (1-1), with the passage of a yellow card for Ramos synonymous with suspension in the next game, the defender has savored the road traveled for 14 years.

"This record is a great reward after so many years of having fun here, being the Spanish player who has most often worn this shirt," he told the microphone of the Spanish public television.

"It's a huge pride, I'm moved every time I put on this jersey, it will not change and I hope to continue doing so for many years to come."

A member of Spain's world champion team in 2010 and double European champion in 2008 and 2012, Ramos inherited the captain's armband of "Roja" in 2016, the date of the last convocation of Casillas (38) in selection.

The Olympics in the viewfinder 

The Sevilla-born defender tied the San Iker record last month in the 4-0 win against the Faroe Islands in qualifying for the Euro.

Moreover, Ramos is now only eight lengths from the European record held by the legendary Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon (176 caps), and sixteen units of the world record set by the Egyptian Ahmed Hassan (184).

The insatiable Ramos sees further as he has hinted that he would like to play for several more years at the highest level, perhaps even until his 40s.

Reacting to press reports on Saturday luring him of competing for the Tokyo Olympics with Spain in the summer of 2020, he did not close the door to this idea.

"I think it is too early to talk about it, it would be rushing to evoke an event as splendid as the Olympic Games," he said. "No one would say no to such an opportunity, but for the moment, I'm with my club, my selection, and there's still a lot of time there, a long season, we'll see what happens. a very nice idea anyway. "