Sergio Ramos broke a La Liga record for red cards when he was sent off for Real Madrid on Saturday.

The defender's red against Athletic Bilbao was his 19th in the league, surpassing the record held by Pablo Alfaro and Xavi Aguado, both of whom were dismissed 18 times.

Ramos saw red on this occasion for elbowing Aritz Aduriz in the 86th minute, having already been booked for fouling Raul Garcia earlier in the goalless draw.

It was the 24th red card of his career, which is twice as many as any other Real Madrid player in history. Fernando Hierro is closest to Ramos with 12 reds.

Since he joined Real in 2005/06, Ramos has only gone one whole season without being sent off. His first season with the club was his worst as he was dismissed four times.

Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane did, though, hint at a possible appeal for the latest red, saying afterwards: "Ramos is not happy as he thinks he didn't make contact, that it was not a yellow."