Sergio Ramos sends "hurt" message after missing out on Spain's Euro 2020 squad

Sergio Ramos admits he is hurt by Luis Enrique's decision to leave him out of Spain's Euro 2020 squad after the head coach decided against using all 26 slots available to him.

Ramos is the most capped international player in European football history with 180 appearances, only four less than world record holder, Egypt's Ahmed Hassan.

But Ramos' place in Spain's European Championship squad has been in doubt since the turn of the year as the defender has only made three appearances since January 14 due to a knee injury.

His appearance against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final was his only outing since mid-March and Enrique has decided against taking a risk with the iconic defender.

Ramos, who has won the World Cup and two European Championships with Spain, is not the only noticeable absentee though after Enrique opted to only pick 24 players.

The head coach took the unprecedented step of not naming a single Real Madrid player in his squad, meaning Spain are set to go into a major tournament without Los Blancos representation for the first time in their history.

Posting on his Instagram, Ramos said: "After a tough few months and a strange season unlike anything I have experienced in my career comes the Euro.

"I have fought and worked every day, in body and soul, to be able to reach 100% for Real Madrid and the national team but things don't always work out the way we'd like.

"It pains me not to have been able to help my team more and not to play for Spain but, in this case, the best thing to do is rest, fully recover and come back next year like we've always done. It hurts not to represent your country, but I have to be honest and sincere.

"I wish all my teammates the very best of luck and I hope we have a great Euros. I'll be another fan cheering on from home.

"A big shout to everyone and #VivaEspaña and #HalaMadrid always!"

Ex-Liverpool forward Iago Aspas, former Man City wideman Jesus Navas and Real Betis' Sergio Canales are among the other high-profile absentees based in La Liga.

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has also missed out after losing his starting place to Edouard Mendy, with Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez picked instead - the 23-year-old is eligible to represent England through his father but reportedly opted for Spain ahead of his first call up in March.

Manchester City centre-back Aymeric Laporte has also been called up by Spain after switching nationality from France. The 26-year-old was born in France and represented the country 51 times in age group football but has not been called up by the senior side since 2019 and has never made an appearance for Les Bleus.

On Ramos' omission, Enrique explained: "It was a very difficult decision but he [Ramos] has not been able to play this season and has hardly trained since January.

"I called him yesterday [Sunday] - it was hard, difficult.

"I feel bad, because he is very professional and he helps the national team a lot. And he can still help it in the future. But I have to look for the best for the squad."

There are ten players based in the Premier League in the Spain squad, including Leeds United's Diego Llorente and Wolves ' winger Adama Traore.

Spain's Euro 2020 squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao), David de Gea ( Manchester United ), Robert Sanchez (Brighton).

Defenders: Jose Gaya (Valencia), Jordi Alba ( Barcelona ), Pau Torres (Villarreal), Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City), Eric Garcia (Manchester City), Diego Llorente (Leeds), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea).

Midfielders: Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City), Pedri (Barcelona), Thiago ( Liverpool ), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Fabian (Napoli), Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig), Pablo Sarabia (Paris Saint-Germain).

Forwards: Gerard Moreno (Villarreal), Alvaro Morata (Atletico Madrid), Ferran Torres (Manchester City), Adama Traore (Wolves), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad).