Three seasons in the shadows, never throwing in the towel
Forty-five goals. That is what Goncalo Ramos produced at Paris Saint-Germain without ever truly owning the No. 9 shirt. He has no interest in pretending otherwise. Speaking to the Europa League magazine, the Portuguese forward went back over a role he learned to accept. “That was, in a way, my job there. I didn’t start often, I ended up coming on a lot as a substitute, and I had to meet the challenge that way. I never gave up because I was on the bench, and in the end I proved my worth like that.”
The record backs the claim. Three seasons in the capital brought those 45 goals plus 10 assists in 131 appearances, much of it squeezed into cameos after the hour mark. Paris were in no rush to let him leave, and now it is easy to see why.
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What Luis Enrique left behind
No bitterness. The 25-year-old says the spell handed him something he still leans on. “I learned a lot, on and off the pitch, from my coach Luis Enrique and from some of the best footballers in the world at Paris,” he says. “What I can bring here is some of what I picked up alongside them, while trying to pass on that same winning mentality.”
His message to the new dressing room leaves little room for interpretation. “We want to win, we are not here just to play: we want to win every competition.” Ramos also nudges at the part of his game that box scores miss. “I love feeling important. I know I have the ability to make a contribution, and not just by scoring goals. People often only see that.”
A 75 million euro price tag and one goal so far
Everything around him has changed. The 75 million euros Milan spent made him the most expensive signing in the club’s history, and a fee like that does not tolerate a bit-part role or a slow start. The early returns are thin: one goal in four Serie A outings.
Wednesday brings Benfica, the club that raised him and sold him to Paris. Milan open their European campaign against the people who know his game better than anyone.
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