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Madrid can't repeat Ronaldo mistake by letting Ramos leave, says Mijatovic
The long-serving defender should be handed a new contract at the Santiago Bernabeu to help the younger players, according to a former Blancos star
Real Madrid should keep Sergio Ramos for the remainder of his career after making a mistake in allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to leave, says Predrag Mijatovic.
The defender's deal runs until the end of the 2020-21 season, by which time he will be 35.
Madrid have in the recent past allowed other legendary names to leave at the tail end of their playing days, including Ramos' former team-mates Raul and Iker Casillas, who moved on to Schalke and Porto respectively.
However, Mijatovic is adamant the Spain international must be retained despite his advancing years, giving him the chance to teach future generations about life with Los Blancos.
"We cannot afford to let our players help other teams, because they should be ours," the former Madrid forward told Stats Perform News. "I would like to have this policy back.
"Unfortunately, it doesn't happen at Real Madrid. Raul had great history at Real Madrid and left in a bad way, Fernando Hierro the same, Casillas too.
"Now they are talking about Sergio Ramos [doing the same]. His contract has to be extended, two or three years, it doesn't matter. This guy has to finish his career at Real Madrid.
"He is important, almost a treasure of the club. Both for what he has done already and what he can do in the future, maybe not on the field, but teaching the young players who join Real Madrid on how to play, behave and adapt to the club. That's what it has to happen."
Madrid also let Ronaldo depart the Santiago Bernabeu for Juventus in 2018, while there has also been speculation Luka Modric, who turns 35 in September, could move on.
Both players were pivotal in helping to win the Champions League for three successive years during Zinedine Zidane's first spell in charge.
"If I had been at the club, I wouldn't let players like Cristiano, Sergio Ramos or Luka Modric leave," Mijatovic continued.
"They are players that despite losing maybe a bit of fitness as the years go on, they are always very positive for the upcoming players.
"Let's imagine a young striker who comes in and learns from Cristiano, giving him advice. Or a young centre-back speaking with Sergio Ramos. Who could teach him better than Sergio Ramos on how he has to behave?
"Football is not just about having great players and then dropping them when you no longer need them. There are some players ...Italians do this perfectly. There are players like [Franco] Baresi, [Paolo] Maldini, and these big players who are a great asset to the club."
