The chances of Sergio Ramos to join Spain at Qatar 2022.

Sergio Ramos has directly asked Luis Enrique, who is in charge of the Spanish team, to put him on the final World Cup team.

At least in part, Enrique seems to have listened because the 36-year-old was on the first list of 55 names given to the Spanish Football Federation.

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Whether he makes the final cut remains to be seen.

Certainly, if his former manager at Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti, is to be believed, he should be on the plane with the rest of the final Spain squad, arguing that he remains one of the best defenders in the world, despite his advanced years.

Ramos is the most capped player of all time for Spain, having made 180 appearances for the senior team, but none since early 2021 due to fitness issues.

He has not featured for his country since moving from Real to PSG on a free transfer, and he missed out on Luis Enrique’s squad at the Euros last summer. That was the first time since 2004 that he had not appeared in a major tournament for his country.

His initial stay in Paris was difficult as injury problems continued to plague him, but, since regaining fitness, he has been back to his best and recently became the first PSG player not to lose in his first 30 games for the club.

One question mark over Ramos must be over his discipline. No player in the history of La Liga has ever had more red cards than him (26), and he has already picked up two in PSG colors, most recently against Reims last month.

Since the latter was for dissent, Enrique may want to make sure that the defender will keep his opinions to himself if a World Cup referee makes a decision with which he disagrees. The last thing the manager would want is to find himself a man down in a key match.

However, there does appear to be a good reason why Enrique might include him, with question marks over the centre of the Spanish defense.

Whilst Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte seems a certain starter, who should partner him is open to doubt. Enrique has consistently picked Pau Torres of Villarreal and former Manchester City player, Eric García, now with Barcelona, but both have been struggling for form as of late.

Given the depth and quality of Ramos’s experience, it might well be worth taking Ramos to the Middle East, even if he begins matches on the bench.

After all, he knows what it is like to win international tournaments in a Spanish jersey – he was part of the team that won the 2010 World Cup and back-to-back European Championships on either side of that.

That could help inspire some of the younger players in the squad, and if he can help the team by coming on as a second-half substitute to shore up the ship in a close game, then he would be worth his place.