December 17 – Aaron Ramsey’s time in Mexico has ended, and not the way he planned it with a last-minute thunderbolt winner, but with a missing dog, a plane ticket home, and one of the stranger footnotes in modern football.
The former Arsenal, Juventus, and Cardiff City midfielder has left Pumas UNAM after a brief and injury-hit spell that included missed matches, missed training sessions, and an extended search for his lost dog. Ramsey, now 34, signed a one-year deal on July 1 but managed just six appearances across all competitions, scoring once before the story drifted somewhere well beyond tactics boards and rehab rooms.
“I would like to thank the Mexican people for their kindness and generosity and making me and my family feel so welcome in Mexico City,” Ramsey wrote on social media. “I also want to give a big thanks to the manager, the coaching staff and particularly the medical staff for helping me through what was a difficult time with injuries.”
Injuries were only part of it. Ramsey also missed league matches and several training sessions while searching for Halo, his dog. Writing on social media: “Please help us find Halo, he went missing in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, near the ‘Hipsterrier’ dog shelter.”
Ramsey eventually returned to Pumas, minus Halo, to continue his rehabilitation and, by his account, was ready to go again.
“With a lot of hard work, I was ready and match fit for the remaining games and I was looking forward to giving my best to the Pumas,” he said. “Unfortunately, my contract was terminated which was a surprise and obviously disappointing. Therefore, I had no choice but to come home to Wales.”
Pumas have not responded publicly to those claims.
Ramsey’s Mexican chapter will be remembered less for goals and more for Halo, heartbreak, and a reminder that even elite careers can turn on the most human, and canine, of moments.
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