All-time leading points scorer Thomas Ramos to leave Toulouse for Racing 92 in 2027

Transfer confirmed

On 4 August, Stade Toulousain officially confirmed that Thomas Ramos will leave the club at the end of the 2026-27 season to join Racing 92. The news, first reported by L'Équipe on 3 August, was described by French media as a "bomb" in the rugby world. Ramos, 31, has been with Toulouse since joining the youth academy in 2011, apart from a one-season loan at Colomiers. He will depart after the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, which concludes on 13 November 2027, and has agreed a three-year contract with the Paris-based club. Racing 92 beat out competition from La Rochelle to secure his signature.

Ramos's legacy at Toulouse

Ramos leaves as the club's all-time leading points scorer, with 2,218 points across 189 matches in all competitions. His trophy cabinet includes six Top 14 titles (2019, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026) and two European Champions Cups (2021, 2024). He is one of only two players, alongside François Cros, to have played in Toulouse's last eight finals. With the French national team, he holds the record for most points (563) and has won three Six Nations championships (2022, 2025, 2026). His cap count is reported as 52 by most sources, though one outlet cites 55. He now targets a first World Cup title with France in 2027.

Why the move?

Several factors converged. Toulouse has been sanctioned multiple times for salary cap breaches, most recently a €2.88 million fine in early July 2026, its fifth penalty in less than three years. The club must now tightly manage its wage bill and is less inclined to offer long, lucrative deals to players in their thirties. Ramos also harbours a desire to play more regularly at fly-half, a position where he would face less competition at Racing than behind Romain Ntamack at Toulouse. The move offers him the chance to be the undisputed leader of a team, a status he may not have felt at Toulouse given the presence of global stars Antoine Dupont and Ntamack.

Racing's rebuilding project

Racing 92, whose last Top 14 title came in 2016, is in a period of reconstruction. The club will return to its historic Stade Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes at the end of the current season. President Jacky Lorenzetti has a tradition of recruiting marquee fly-halves, following Dan Carter, Jonathan Sexton, and Owen Farrell. Ramos is expected to fill that role and become the centrepiece of the team's attack. The signing is seen as a major coup for a club aiming to return to the summit of French rugby.

Reactions

“This decision was particularly difficult to take. Stade Toulousain is my club, the club that has seen me grow, flourish and experience moments I will never forget. I have chosen to take on a new sporting challenge, with the desire to discover a new environment and continue my development.”

He added that all his energy is now focused on the final season in the Toulouse jersey and that he will give everything to help the club achieve its goals.

Toulouse president Didier Lacroix acknowledged the departure with regret but pragmatism.

“Thomas Ramos is one of the faces of Stade Toulousain. Beyond his immense talent, he is an exceptional competitor and a player whose exacting standards drive the entire team forward. Seeing a player of this stature leave is never insignificant, but it is part of the life of a club and elite sport.”

Lacroix stressed that until his departure, the only priority is achieving success together in the 2026-27 season.