Who has been football’s biggest hot head for the last 20 years? Check it out here as we present the 25 players with the most red cards.
The average footballer only picks up a few red cards over the course of his career. They can be for anything from making a desperate last-ditch effort in a game to completely losing his cool altogether. The list of reasons can be endless…
Some of them, however, seem to have a habit of getting on the referee’s bad books on too many occasions. The world of football is full of these individuals, characterised by some as ‘bad boys’. They’re a part of the sport most fans love, even if they don’t want to admit it.
And now Transfermarkt revealed that Sergio Ramos has picked up the most red cards since 2000 on a whopping 26. The Real Madrid captain is also on 259 yellow cards, making him the clear ‘winner’ on this list.
Despite his many red cards, however, Ramos has never got a red card once for Spain in 170 appearances.
Interestedly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ricardo Quaresma are the only two forwards to make this list.
| Player | Red Cards | |
| 1. | Sergio Ramos | 26 |
| 2. | Rafael Marquez | 21 |
| 3. | Felipe Melo | 20 |
| 4. | Matteo Contini | 20 |
| 5. | Fernando Amorebieta | 19 |
| 6. | Gerardo Torrado | 18 |
| 7. | Gary Medel | 18 |
| 8. | Deividas Semberas | 17 |
| 9. | Gonzalo Rodriguez | 17 |
| 10. | Philippe Mexes | 16 |
| 11. | Alberto Lopo | 15 |
| 12. | Giampiero Pinzi | 14 |
| 13. | Ricardo Quaresma | 14 |
| 14. | Jermaine Jones | 14 |
| 15. | Alexis Ruano | 14 |
| 16. | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | 13 |
| 17. | Daniele Conti | 13 |
| 18. | Emre Belozoglu | 13 |
| 19. | Cosmin Moti | 13 |
| 20. | Leonardo Ponzio | 13 |
| 21. | Alessandro Lucarelli | 13 |
| 22. | Filippo Porcari | 13 |
| 23. | Dani Alves | 12 |
| 24. | Javier Mascherano | 12 |
| 25. | Pepe | 12 |
The top 25 players with the most assists during the 21st century were also revealed recently.