Getting a red card in football is something every footballer expects during their career. No matter what you do, it’s almost inevitable that you would get sent off during your playing career.
However, a few footballers take that to the extreme, collecting reds like they are going out of fashion. Today we present to you this (dis)honorable list of bad boys who have been sent off the most in their careers.
Here the top five most red-carded players in football history.
5. Paolo Montero (21 Red Cards)
Paolo is a former Uruguayan international who played for 17 years between 1990-2007.
The gifted but tough-tackling defender was a mainstay in Italian football, where he featured for Atalanta and Juventus.
His aggressive style of play usually saw him enter the cautions book, earning himself a total of 21 red cards in his entire football career.
Montero also holds the record for the most red cards received by a player in Serie A history, picking up 16 red cards during his time at Italy.
4. Alexis Ruano Delgado (21 Red Cards)
The no-nonsense Spanish defender played for various clubs during his long career from 2002 to 2020.
The center back notched up an astonishing 22 red cards during his playing days, featuring mostly for clubs in his native Spain, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.
He never played for the Spanish senior national team despite his time with the cadet under 17, 19, 20, and 21 sides.
3. Cyril Rool (25 Red Cards)
Cyril Rool played as a left-back and defensive midfielder.
He is known for his aggressive playing style, which is confirmed by his record of 25 red cards and 187 yellow cards in his career before the 2009-10 season, which is a record in the French championship.
The French man was highly notorious for his tough tackling and aggressive style of play.
During his 18-year career, Cyril amassed a whopping 25 red cards, earning himself a place on the list of football players with most red-cards.
Rool began his career at Cannes before moving to Lens, where he played a crucial role in the team’s victory in the 1998-99 Coupe de la Ligue final. He then went on to play for other French clubs, including Strasbourg, Nice, and Marseille.
2. Sergio Ramos (28 Red Cards)
The bad boy of Spanish football is no stranger to the caution booklet of the referee.
The highly decorated footballer has been sent off an astonishing 28 times over the course of his career, he received 26 red cards while playing for Real Madrid out of which 21 were in La Liga, four in the Champions League and one in Copa del Rey.
Ramos’s aggressive defending and gamesmanship often land him in the bad books of match officials.
Sergio Ramos moved to PSG in the summer of 2021, and picked up his 27th red card in his third game for the club.
The 28th red card of his career as PSG were held to a 0-0 draw by Reims in August 2022.
Interestingly though, although Ramos is the most booked player in the 21st century, he has never received a red card in international football while representing the Spanish national team.
1. Gerardo Bedoya (46 Red Cards)
When your nickname is ‘the beast’ then it will be no surprise that you will be topping the list of the most red-carded players in football history.
The former Colombian international has received a gargantuan 46 reds in his 20-year football career.
The most recorded for any footballer in history.
Bedoya began his career playing for various clubs in Central and South America, including Racing Club in Argentina, where he helped them win their first title in 35 years.
He went on to play for other Argentine side Boca Juniors and Puebla in Mexico before retiring in 2015.
After retiring, Bedoya became a caretaker manager for Independiente Santa Fe, a club he played for and where he holds the record for the most games played.
Amusingly, his coaching debut was short-lived as he was sent off just 21 minutes into the game, making headlines once again for his aggressive play.
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