Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos is as renowned for his disciplinary lapses as his defensive qualities and the Spaniard earned another unwanted title on Wednesday by becoming the most booked player in Champions League history.
Ramos was cautioned in the first half of Real’s 3-0 win over AS Roma to pick up a record 37th yellow card in 115 Champions League games, taking him beyond former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes as the most cautioned player in the competition.
The defender also holds the record for the most yellow cards in a single Champions League campaign, picking up five bookings in the 2010-11 and 2012-13 seasons, while Scholes, a notoriously clumsy tackler in his day, never earned more than four yellows in one campaign.
Ramos, who has lifted Europe’s top prize on four occasions, has been sent off a record 24 times for Real Madrid, double the amount of the club’s next biggest offender, Fernando Hierro.
He has also been dismissed more than any player in the history of La Liga, receiving 19 red cards in Spain’s top flight.
By comparison, the Spaniard has remained relatively trouble free in the Champions League, being sent off only three times despite his considerable yellow card count.
Ramos has never been sent off in 158 games for the Spanish national team.