Thomas Ramos will leave Stade Toulousain after the 2026-27 season and join Racing 92 in Paris, ending an association with the club that began in its academy and has produced six Top 14 titles and two Champions Cups.
Toulouse confirmed the move on Tuesday, following reports in L'Equipe earlier in the week. Racing have signed the France full-back on a three-year deal running from July 2027 to June 2030.
The 31-year-old has made 200 appearances for Toulouse. Apart from a season-long loan at Pro D2 side Colomiers, he has played nowhere else since his senior debut against Castres in 2013-14. Four of his six Top 14 winners' medals came in consecutive seasons between 2021 and 2026.
"This decision was particularly difficult to make," Ramos said. "Stade Toulousain is my club, the one that has seen me grow, thrive, and live 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. Even though our paths will part ways at the end of this season, the respect, gratitude, and attachment I hold for Stade Toulousain will remain intact.
"Today, all my energy is focused on this final season under this jersey. I will give everything to help the club achieve its goals."
Toulouse president Didier Lacroix, who along with head coach Ugo Mola had put a contract extension beyond June 2027 to the player, framed the departure as a fact of modern club rugby rather than a rupture.
"Thomas Ramos is one of the faces of Stade Toulousain," Lacroix said. "Beyond his immense talent, he is an exceptional competitor and a player whose high standards elevate the entire team.
"Seeing a player of this calibre leave is never trivial, but it is part of the life of a club and of elite sport. Until his departure, one thing matters above all: succeeding together in this 2026-2027 season. We know we can count on Thomas's total commitment to continue writing the history of Stade Toulousain."
Racing, in their announcement, said Ramos embodies their strategy of pairing academy graduates with established French and overseas internationals, citing his drive to win, experience and leadership as major assets. The timing is deliberate on their side too: he arrives as the club returns to its historic Colombes home, with the rebuilt Stade Yves-du-Manoir due to be inaugurated in May 2027.
Ramos brings 52 France caps and three Six Nations titles. He also arrives at a club that has spent recent seasons well off Toulouse's pace — Racing finished fifth in the 2025-26 Top 14 on 74 points, twelve behind champions Toulouse on 86, with Montpellier, Stade Francais and Pau also ahead of them.
The succession question at Toulouse is already being asked. Blair Kinghorn, signed from Edinburgh, can cover full-back and fly-half, and supporters have pointed to the club's own academy pipeline as the more likely long-term answer, with the hope that Ramos spends his final season handing the role over.
Toulouse open their Top 14 title defence when the competition begins on 5 September.
