Huge Cardiff City, Aaron Ramsey twist emerges - He's set to join Mexican club | OneFootball

Aaron Ramsey is reportedly closing in on a shock move to Mexican side Pumas UNAM after being strongly linked with the manager job at Cardiff City

The managerial saga involving Cardiff City and Aaron Ramsey now appears to have arrived at a somewhat-surprising conclusion as the midfielder closes in on a shock switch to Mexican top-flight outfit Pumas UNAM.

As first called by Mexican TV reporter Andres Vaca when speaking on the Seleccione2 podcast, the Welsh international captain is set to seal a move to Pumas in order to continue his playing career ahead of next summer's 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted in the United States alongside Canada and Mexico.

Ramsey penned a two-year contract in the summer of 2023 to return to boyhood club Cardiff, which is due to expire at the end of this month. The ex-Arsenal midfield star has been plagued by injuries over the past two seasons, making just 21 Championship appearances.

His future in the Welsh capital has been the subject of uncertainty in recent times, with Ramsey having taken charge of Cardiff on a caretaker basis for the remaining three matches of the 2024/25 Championship campaign following Omer Riza's dismissal at the Bluebirds suffered relegation to League One.

It had appeared as though the 34-year-old was poised to permanently succeed Riza ahead of Cardiff's first third-tier campaign in more than 20 years after the club failed in a protracted pursuit of Charlton Athletic boss Nathan Jones, who has since put pen to paper on a fresh five-year deal in South London in the wake of the Addicks' promotion to the Championship, but Cardiff will now seemingly have to look elsewhere as their managerial search rumbles on.

Aaron Ramsey set to join Mexican side Pumas in big Cardiff City manager twist

Alongside the likes of Brian Barry-Murphy, Des Buckingham and Ian Evatt, Ramsey had been linked to the Cardiff job in recent weeks.

However, a huge update emerged via talkSPORT's live football news blog on Friday morning [10:53AM], which claimed that Ramsey was set to be kept on in a coaching capacity after becoming the front-runner to take the job in the wake of Cardiff's failed attempt at prizing Jones away from Charlton.

For one reason or another, though, that has not transpired, and fresh reports now claim that he is set to sign for Pumas. On Sunday morning, journalist Phil Blanche reported via X that Ramsey has played his final game for Cardiff and has agreed a deal to join Pumas, with formalities expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

This now means that Cardiff's managerial search, which is already in its sixth week, will continue to rumble on with supporters becoming increasingly disgruntled. The appointment of Ramsey would have been warmly welcomed by the fanbase, although they will appreciate his desire to continue playing in the hope of leading Wales to a second successive World Cup next summer.

Despite Ramsey's intention of becoming a manager in the long-term, he insisted his role at Cardiff at the end of last season was only a temporary one. After his first game in charge, a 1-1 draw at home to Oxford United in April, the Welshman told the press: "I am just taking these three games.

"I'm still recovering from a hamstring operation, I'm still in the middle of rehab and I'm focused on getting back to full fitness."

Ramsey has also been vocal about the need for structural and strategic changes at boardroom level, a sentiment echoed by supporters amid intense scrutiny on owner Vincent Tan alongside Mehmet Dalman [chairman] and Ken Choo [chief executive].

Fans had debated the likelihood of Ramsey taking the job without the promise of more footballing experience, nous and strategy being implemented around him, and one must wonder how much of an impact that has played in the decision he now appears to have made on his future.

Cardiff City should appoint Des Buckingham as big Aaron Ramsey twist emerges

The aforementioned Buckingham has been routinely linked with the Cardiff job, and Football League World exclusively revealed last month that the ex-Oxford boss, along with Evatt, was set to undertake an interview for the role.

Although talk linking Buckingham with a move to South Wales had gone cold amid the situations with Jones and Ramsey respectively, an update from Darren Witcoop yesterday afternoon claimed that it's between the Welsh midfielder and Buckingham ahead of the conclusion of Cardiff's managerial search next week.

Buckingham, who has League One promotion-winning experience on his CV after taking Oxford up through the play-offs last year, would represent an attractive and progressive candidate. There are concerns that he may be unable to push for the kind of changes Ramsey had been tipped for, such as more full-time boardroom members with proven footballing expertise and a sporting director, but that's out of his control.

As a head coach, Buckingham would fit the bill of what Cardiff need at this moment in time. His possession-based, attacking style of play can be both swashbuckling and hugely effective in full flow, and his experience working alongside younger players would make supporters hopeful of a real long-term future under his stewardship, with Cardiff in desperate need of quelling the incessant managerial turnover which has seen seven permanent hires since the start of 2021.

Buckingham is also available without the snag of having to pay a compensation fee, as he was relieved of his duties by Oxford last December and is yet to return to management. Cardiff have now missed out on a number of targets, allowing their search for a new manager to persist for far, far too long.

Preparations for next season and beyond really do need to begin in earnest now, and getting hot on the trail of Buckingham and completing a deal as soon as possible simply ought to be the way to go in order to avoid losing yet more ground.