Sergio Ramos wrote himself into Paris Saint-Germain history by becoming the club’s first player to go undefeated through their first 30 appearances.
The Spaniard featured in Saturday’s 4-3 Ligue 1 victory over Troyes to make it 30 matches for Les Parisiens without tasting defeat, breaking the long-standing record held by Rai, the club's Brazilian legend, who went 29 games without losing.
The charismatic central defender – who is aiming to break back into the Spain squad ahead of next month’s World Cup – also became the first club player not to lose in his first 22 Ligue 1 games for PSG, beating the record previously held by Argentine Juan Pablo Sorin.
Ramos is enjoying a resurgence in both form and fitness this season, with 16 starts to his name already this campaign across all competitions. The defender managed to be selected for just 12 starting line-ups in an injury-hit first season in the French capital following his move from Real Madrid.
The veteran is also making a significant difference in terms of leadership within the club’s squad. Ramos had to step-in and break up the two feuding superstar forwards of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in the dressing room following a Ligue 1 clash against Montpellier in August. Mbappe and Neymar fell out over the order of penalty takers in the match as the fractious relationship between the two came to light.
Ramos then played a significant role after that night in terms of reconciling the situation between the two – as highlighted by reports in the aftermath. Ramos is said to have instructed Neymar to respect the structure that was in place with the club and accept that Mbappe was first choice penalty taker, while he would be first-choice in games which the Frenchman was not featuring or if the team got more spot kicks in the game.
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It is highlighted that the former Real Madrid star took it upon himself to step into this leadership role, with the understanding that it would be better for dressing room morale and effectiveness, rather than it being done by boss Christophe Galtier or the club’s football director Luis Campos.
Ramos will celebrate his 37 th birthday in March and many had feared his time at the top level could not be revived due to multiple injury setbacks over the past two seasons. However, this season has seen him steer clear of fitness issues and become an instrumental figure on and off the pitch for PSG.
