Birmingham City fell flat with Real Madrid swoop - His career has been a damp squib | OneFootball

Moha Ramos failed to leave any sort of impression at Blues

Given the club's recent history in the transfer market, it is easy for some on the outside to forget that the chequebooks weren't exactly always open from a Birmingham City perspective.

Under the ownership of American hedge fund investment group Knighthead Capital Management - fronted by Tom Wagner - Blues have conducted some extremely well-documented transfer dealings, none more so than the eight-figure sum which saw Jay Stansfield acquired from Fulham in August 2024 after the West Midlands side were desperate to see their previous loan ace return to the club on a long-ter, basis.

Beforehand though, any instances of hefty transfer sums would prove to be extremely controversial. One, in the eyes of supporters at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, who often failed to see how the club's former Far-East owners, as well as the endless list of previous managers and head coaches, could justify parting with such high levels of cash for a Championship side, as well as the EFL, who imposed a handful of restrictions on Blues, particularly in the latter years of the 2010s.

As such, after many false dawns under the stewardship of Carsen Yeung and Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited, Pep Clotet was tasked with the latest in a long line of rebuilds back in the summer of 2019, with the Spaniard and former assistant taking over from Garry Monk, who had departed the club in controversial fashion after just one full season at St. Andrew's.

In what was Clotet's second stint as the number one in the dugout in England, having previously overseen matters at Oxford United, Birmingham looked to add a European feel to their squad despite limited resources.

Given the stature of the club they were conducting business with, there was an understandable hype when an initial loan agreement was struck for the services of Real Madrid goalkeeper, Moha Ramos.

However, as time, and the subsequent years of Ramos' career progressed, it has emerged that Blues had not missed out on much by not opting to utilise the shot-stopper's services in a competitive fixture.

Moha Ramos had no impact at Birmingham City after Real Madrid loan agreement was struck

On the final day of July 2019, it was confirmed that Ramos had swapped the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu for St Andrew's for the season, becoming Clotet's fifth signing as Blues boss after signing an initial contract as interim head coach.

Born in Tenerife, Ramos came through the academy ranks at Longuera and the club aptly named after the Canary Island, before moving to the Galacticos as a 14-year-old in 2014.

Unsurprisingly, there was a strong sense of potential which surrounded his services, although one of many regrets for the goalkeeper may be the fact his international career never got off the ground after being dropped from Spain's Under-17s World Cup squad for disciplinary issues, just two years before he moved to the Second City.

Having no prior experience of senior football, it was envisaged that Ramos would be handed his breakthrough in the West Midlands whilst offering Clotet a much younger alternative to veteran shot-stopper, Lee Camp.

“The club is doing the right thing by identifying young talent for our academy and he’s a good option," Clotet said of Ramos after his signing was all-but confirmed.

“I think he’s going to work with us, with our goalkeeping department. They work very well together, our under 23s and our first team."

Despite the loan deal including an option-to-buy - although no specific fee was mooted - there was never any danger of such a clause being triggered by Blues, with Clotet never opting to hand the-then 19-year-old the opportunity to impress, with Ramos unable to edge his way past either Camp or David Stockdale in the pecking order.

Moha Ramos' career after leaving Birmingham City has been a damp squib

Despite being in the same Blues camp as Jude Bellingham, it is glaringly obvious that one player with connections to the two clubs is excelling, whilst the same cannot be said for the other.

At present, Ramos is keeping net for CD Marino, who are a semi-professional side based on his native Tenerife, some four years after being released by Real Madrid.

Ironically, his second and final loan spell away from the Bernabeu came at Real Union, a now-fourth-tier side in the Basque Country who are majority owned by Aston Villa boss, Unai Emery, with the man overseeing matters at Blues' bitter rivals having long-standing family ties to the club.

Returning back to Ramos, though, and whilst a frustrating spell in the Midlands showcased that he would perhaps never make the grade at a senior level for Real, a subsequent fall from grace will have somewhat relieved Bluenoses that an option-to-buy was never activated in an era summed up by several transfer mishaps.