Iván Ramis

Iván Ramis Barrios (known as Iván Ramis) is a Spanish central defender and a product of the Real Mallorca youth setup. He made his debut against Albacete on 15th February 2004 in a 0-0 draw at the Son Moix.

He was sent on loan to Liga Adelante side Real Valladolid in the 2005/2006 season where he established himself as a first team player before finding himself in the Mallorca defence by 2007/2008.

In January 2010, Celtic showed a great deal of interest in Ramis but according to his agent, Javier Diaz, the two clubs were struggling to agree on a price with the Islanders wanting around £3m. Celtic’s interest was then reignited in June 2010 with reports they are interested in both Ramis and Alhassane Keita. Both deals failed to materialise though.

But it wasn’t just Celtic who were interested as Ramis caused a stir again in the summer of 2010. With clubs looking to take advantage of Mallorca’s financial plight, many swooped for the talented central defender. Offers came in from the likes of Espanyol and Villarreal, and Sevilla wanted to take both Ramis and captain Nunes to form a good defensive pairing on the cheap.

Despite Sevilla being favourites to sign Ramis, the Spaniard signed a new deal on transfer deadline day after calls from Serra Ferrer for the player to be a leader at the club. Ramis has become a respected defender in Spain and deserves his many admirers, but his low £11,000 per week contract signed until June of 2015 has helped to remind fans that he knows where his loyalties lie.

The future of Ramis was once again in the spotlight in the winter transfer window of 2011 when Celtic once again were linked with the Spaniard, whilst PSG also set their sights on the defender.