age of 6, then he began his career at local side Sevilla, emerging through the club's youth system alongside Jesús Navas and Antonio Puerta. He made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 1 February 2004, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute for Paco Gallardo in a 0–1 away loss against Deportivo La Coruña. In the 2004–05 season, Ramos appeared in 41 games as Sevilla finished sixth and qualified to the 2005–06 UEFA Cup, scoring in home fixtures against Real Sociedad (2–1) and Real Madrid (2–2). In the 2004–05 UEFA Cup, he scored his first continental goal, heading to conclude a 2–0 win over C.D. Nacional at the Ramon Sánchez Pizjuán in the first round (4–1 aggregate). Real Madrid 2005–09: Record transfer and early days In the summer of 2005, Ramos was purchased by Real Madrid for €27 million, a record for a Spanish defender. He was the only Spanish player brought in during Florentino Pérez's first stint as Real's president. At the club, Ramos was assigned the number 4 shirt, previously worn by Fernando Hierro. On 6 December 2005 he netted his first goal for the Merengues, in a 2–1 UEFA Champions League group stage loss at Olympiacos. During his first seasons, Ramos played as centre back, being also used as an emergency defensive midfielder on occasion. However, with the arrival of Christoph Metzelder and Pepe in the 2007–08 season, he was again relocated to right back. In his first four seasons at Real Madrid, Ramos displayed a goalscoring instinct unusual to many defenders, netting more than 20 goals overall. He also received the first nine of his 24 red cards for the club, including four in his debut season. His first red card came after two bookable offences in a 1–0 away loss to Espanyol on 18 September 2005. During the 2006–07 season, Ramos scored five goals, including one in a 3–3 El Clásico draw with Barcelona, as Real Madrid won a record 30th league title. On 4 May 2008, he assisted Gonzalo Higuaín in the 89th minute against Osasuna in an eventual 2–1 away win, the match that sealed the club's 31st league championship. On the final day of the season, he scored twice in a 5–2 home win against already relegated Levante: one through a header, and another an individual effort; these goals taking his league tally for the 2007–08 season to five. On