Sergio Ramos joins prolific goalscoring defenders club after fruitful season with Real Madrid and Spain

Sergio Ramos is a prolific footballer in many ways. There's the more than 600 matches he has played for Real Madrid; the 165 international appearances for Spain, second only to Iker Casillas. Then there's the lengthy honours list which includes four Champions League titles and four La Liga titles. One he might rather forget is the 25 red cards. Then there's another unusual statistic for which he should be celebrated - and that's the remarkable number of goals he has scored, as a defender. Ramos clocked up his 20th international goal for Spain from the penalty spot against Sweden on Monday evening, taking him joint-11th on his country's all time goalscorers list. He won't reach leader David Villa, who is way out in front on 59, but the 33-year-old Ramos could break into the top 10 if he continues to play for a few more years, with Michel (21 goals), and Julio Salinas (22) just in front of him. He could have equalled Michel's mark in the Sweden match when Spain were awarded another penalty, but Ramos insisted striker Alvaro Morata took it after he had been fouled. "I did not even ask him [about the penalty] because Sergio always wants to put all the possible goals,” Morata said. “But he has made an incredible gesture. I thank him and he knows what I think of him." It was a disappointing season for Real Madrid, finishing third in the league, 19 points behind Barcelona, and failing to win any silverware except the Club World Cup. They struggled without the prolific Cristiano Ronaldo, but Ramos chipped in with 11 goals in all competitions to go with the four he scored in 2018 and three in 2019 for Spain. It was the second time in his club career that he had reached double figures in a single season, and he stands on 109 career goals - an impressive figure for a defender. Will Dutchman Ronald Koeman ever be caught as the highest scoring defender with more than 250 goals? He was more versatile than Ramos, pushing forward into midfield, but Ramos should continue to score goals, especially if he keeps penalty-taking duties; he converted 11 during the season just gone. He's not quite the top scoring international defender, however. That title goes to the Argentine Daniel Passarella, who scored 22, while Koeman netted 14 for the Netherlands.

Sergio Ramos joins prolific goalscoring defenders club after fruitful season with Real Madrid and Spain

Take a look at our list of some of the highest scoring defenders over the years from Ronald Koeman to Roberto Carlos