Chinese side Jiangsu Suning have completed the signing of Brazilian midfielder Ramires from Chelsea for £25 million.
An impressive spell with the Blues
Ramires enjoyed a very successful six years at Stamford Bridge, winning the Premier League, the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Europa League and the Champions League. In fact the Brazil international played a vital role in the Blues' historic 2012 Champions League victory by scoring a memorable chipped goal against Barcelona, at the Camp Nou, to help his side reach the final.
The 28-year-old will now link up with former Chelsea player Dan Petrescu. Now the manager of the Chinese club, the Romanian made over 150 league appearances for the London side over a five-year spell.
Chelsea signed Ramires in 2010 from Benfica, for a fee of £19.8 million. Despite making 251 appearances for the Blues, Ramires has found game time hard to find under new coach Guus Hiddink. The interim boss has not played the Brazilian in the Premier League since the 0-0 draw with Manchester United in December, four league matches ago.
The club has taken to twitter to say farewell to the midfielder, tweeting: “Best of luck @Rami7oficial, thanks for the memories.”
Chinese clubs making major moves
Ramires will join fellow Brazilian midfielder Paulinho when he moves to China. The former Tottenham man signed for Guangzhou Evergrande in the summer of 2015.
As Well as Paulinho, Ramires will be among a host of players moving to China. Including players such as Fredy Guarin who has signed for Shanghai Shenhua from Inter Milan and Gervinho who has signed for Hebei Fortune from Roma.
Chelsea have recently secured the services of another Brazilian player, Alexandre Pato. The striker moves to Stamford Bridge on loan from Corinthians with an option to buy at the end of the season. With Ramires vacating the number seven shirt, the former AC Milan star is expected to take the number.