<p>The retired midfielder’s absence for the semi-final of Euro 2016 was the great ‘what-if’ of Welsh football, but even so his brilliant career managed to transform a footballing public for ever</p><p>If some footballers take time to reach their potential, others seem to be the finished article before they’re able to drive. A teenage Aaron Ramsey was firmly in the latter camp. After only 11 league starts for Cardiff he had made his international debut for Wales against Denmark, turned down Manchester United in favour of Arsenal, and given Cardiff fans one of the great <em>what-ifs</em> of their club’s modern age after Dave Jones chose not to start him in the 2008 FA Cup final against Portsmouth, with Ramsey being the tender age of 17.</p><p>Success-starved supporters who should know better will pin their hopes on to the narrowest of young shoulders and yet it all seemed so easy for the teenager from Caerphilly who was captain of his country by the age of 20, would go on to play in a World Cup and two European Championships, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/apr/07/aaron-ramsey-former-wales-captain-arsenal-midfielder-retires-35">this week retired</a> as an icon of the Welsh game.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/apr/10/goodbye-to-the-rare-talent-aaron-ramsey-aka-the-biggest-what-if-in-history-of-wales-football">Continue reading...</a>