Ramires left Chelsea for JS Suning just as the Chinese Super League started offering ridiculous transfer fees for Premier League players. After three years and a stint in the reserves, Ramires is looking for a way out.
For a brief period, the Chinese Super League threatened Major League Soccer as the go-to destination for late-career players looking for a low-pressure paycheck. For an even briefer period, the Chinese Super League threatened Europe’s top clubs by offering transfer fees and wage packets beyond even Mino Raiola’s greasiest dreams of market distortion. Chelsea capitalized on the Chinese Super League near the peak of its frivolity, selling Oscar for £52 million. A year later, the Super League catalyzed Diego Costa’s falling out with Antonio Conte and the club, immortalized by Conte shouting “You can go to China!”
But before all this, Chelsea sold Ramires to JS Suning for £25 million in January 2016. Ramires made 26 appearances in his first season at Suning and 23 appearances in his second, scoring 11 goals in total. He has not been with the first team, though, since October 2017.
Ramires has spent time out of the lineup with injury and some mishandling of his player registration with the league. As a result, his most recent playing time has come with Suning’s reserve team. Unsurprisingly, his representatives are working to negotiate a release from his contract and a subsequent move to Flamengo in Brazil.
Ramires will be the second ex-Blue to leave China this year, following Mikel John Obi’s free transfer from Tianjin Teda to Middlebrough in January. Upon returning to England, Mikel straightaway identified the limitations of the Super League’s strategy:
"You can only advance so much by throwing money at something and the Chinese contracts are very generous, but it’s still going to struggle to become a top league… My advice to anyone thinking about going, is have a long think about it. You have to go at the right time. I certainly wouldn’t say to anyone under the age of 30 to go there. They will regret it if they do. – Telegraph"
Mikel and Ramires are both in their 30s, but both are leaving to regain the competitiveness and the challenge of more established leagues. Mikel has started 14 games and completed 11 of them since joining Middlesbrough three months ago. He is currently fighting his long-time Chelsea teammates Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole for the final Championship promotion playoff spot, with Middlesbrough sitting one point ahead of Derby County.
Somewhat surprisingly, in light of Mikel’s comments, the youngest Chelsea player to leave for China seems the most content. Oscar is still only 27, and his contract at Shanghai SIPG runs through the end of the 2020 season. In 88 games for Shanghai SIPG he has 26 goals and 45 assists. He had 38 goals and 37 assists over 203 games for Chelsea.
Based on those stats, Mikel’s comments and a slice of footballing common sense, it’s hard to imagine Oscar is being challenged to play his best football. If Mikel and Ramires feel underserved by the quality of play and the standards of professionalism, Oscar could find himself in a worse position if he decides to return to Europe after his contract expires. He will still be in his prime years, but will have lost the experience, development and fitness he otherwise would have gained during that time. Mikel spoke of the need to regain his fitness and match sharpness for a league like the Championship after his two years away from England.
The few years of peak Chinese Super League were a curious feature of football in the mid-2010s. The league may find its equilibrium and its place in the global game, but chances are it will not attract players like Oscar, Ramires and Mikel at these stages of their careers.