Chelsea FC Rumors: Ramires and John Obi Mikel Headed To China
Chelsea FC are reportedly shipping out two midfielders to China this January
In one of the stranger stories to come out of the January transfer window, Chelsea FC are reportedly set to sell off both Ramires and John Obi Mikel to two Chinese clubs. Some “in the know” Twitter accounts are reporting that the deal is all but set for Ramires to head off to Jiangsu Suning Football Club for an inflated fee while the reports about Mikel are more speculative.
One of the reasons this move would be odd is because Ramires has just recently signed a deal keeping him at the club until 2019. He has been a largely forgotten man under Guus Hiddink despite playing well under Jose Mourinho this season. Still, Ramires is just 28-years-old and is still in the midst of his prime so a move to China would be strange on a personal level as well.
Other Brazilians such as Paulinho have made moves to China in the past few years but Ramires still wants to be included in the national team conversation, something that surely will not be helped by moving to such an inferior league. From a financial standpoint however, the move makes a great deal of sense for all parties involved, even the club forking over an exorbitant fee.
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Chelsea FC get to sell off a player that never quite lived up to his initial billing despite having a few brilliant moments for the Blues. The Energizer Bunny-like running of Ramires has helped Chelsea in matches where that was needed but his poor passing and lack of technical ability has also hurt the team in the past as well.
By moving to China, Ramires would be able to guarantee himself and his family a very nice wage packet that he would not receive from many other clubs and certainly not from Chelsea. Having come from humble beginnings and reportedly earning £2 a day working construction as a teenager, making a few hundred thousand pounds a week in China can be very appealing.
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This decision is probably made even easier considering he has won the Champions League, Europa League, Premier League and a few other domestic trophies for the Blues as well. He also has the added bonus of being managed by a former Chelsea great in Dan Petrescu.
As for his supposed new club, they get a semi-recognizable face on their roster and can boast that they have a full Brazil international wearing their kit. He will likely be a central figure in their marketing campaigns and can help them build on a ninth place finish in the Chinese Super League last season.
There has been no confirmation thus far for this move but we can expect to know one way or another very soon. Some very big fees are being thrown around with some even going as high up as £25 million which Chelsea would be very hard pressed to ignore.
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As for John Obi Mikel, he is linked with a move elsewhere every transfer window and has never left. Now that he is back in the starting XI and central to Guus Hiddink’s plans, we can safely assume that he will not be going anywhere, at least until the summer window opens.