Former Real Madrid player and coach Bernd Schuster has called on Sergio Ramos to stay.

Ramos has asked Florentino about leaving for free in order to go to China has ruffled a few feathers in Spain.

"I cannot imagine Madrid without Ramos," added Schuster.

"He's the captain, the figurehead of the team. But I get it. After so many seasons [at Los Blancos], you ask yourself things every year. And that's necessary.

"You wonder about the motivation, the hunger, how you see the team... He is a player with lots of responsibility.

"China is where they pay the most in the world, but I understand that the club do not want to let him go easily.

"For the new project [at Madrid], he is an important figure. For a key player, you want to know what the new project will be like, where it's going.

"He has direct communication with the club and surely he knows who's [going to join]."

Schuster also spoke of his criticism of Toni Kroos.

"I like him very much," noted Schuster.

"One day I criticised him a little. I have been a footballer and I know that nobody likes it. I would've reacted the same. But I felt like that at the time."