Brazilian Midfielder Ramires says “Let me go to Chelsea”
Benfica’s hopes of keeping Brazilian midfielder Ramires have been dealt a severe blow after the player publically declared his intent to move to the West London club.
Ramires has been one of the most important players in Benfica’s run to the Portuguese Super Liga title last season after transferring from Cruzeiro. Due to his amazing stamina Ramires was known as the Blue Kenyan to the Cruzeiro fans and his hard working approach to the game also made him a fan favourite at Benfica.
Chelsea have already reportedly had a 20 Million pounds bid turned down by Benfica for the midfielder and Ramires has asked the club to let him have what he described as a dream move for him. After the departures of key players such as Michael Ballack, Joe Cole and Juliano Belletti, Chelsea’s midfield is desperately short of quality players, and the English Champions have been trying to fill in those gaps as soon as possible, as the season is about to start.
Ramires played for Brazil at the World Cup in South Africa and was one of the better performers from a side which largely under performed. He has made it clear that he respects Benfica and has a lot of affection for the fans, who took to him very quickly, but that at this point in his career a move to the English Champions will be foolish to turn down.
The Brazilian has expressed his wish to play alongside players such as Petr Cech, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, John Terry and experience playing at one of the strongest clubs in Europe at the moment.
Benfica look to be taking advantage of Chelsea’s genuine interest in signing the player and have been looking to get a significantly higher bid but Coach Carlo Ancelotti has already made it clear that Chelsea will not spend over the odds for any player, even if they really want to sign him.
Chelsea have so far only signed one player, Yossi Benayoun from Liverpool in a deal worth around 5.5 Million pounds. Although the English Champions have been linked with a number of players, it seems that they no longer possess the financial muscle to change the minds of clubs who are reluctant to part with their players.
Another one of Chelsea’s targets, David Luiz, is also a Benfica player and is believed to be worth around 30 Million Pounds. The price tag is likely to prove too much of a hurdle as Real Madrid Coach Jose Mourinho has reportedly declared the player too expensive already and Chelsea are likely to come to the same conclusion.
Meanwhile, Chelsea Chief Executive Ron Gourlay has announced that Carlo Ancelotti has funds to spend if he finds a player he likes, provided the price is reasonable. Gourlay also made it clear that the club was looking to complete all signings before the start of the season, which basically means that any signings to be made by Chelsea will be made within the next two-three weeks.
Whether Ramires’ desire to play for Chelsea will be fulfilled depends now on Benfica’s willingness to let the player go. A public statement by the Brazilian is a good sign for Chelsea and the Portuguese club will not want to keep a player who wants to move away but it remains to be seen if Chelsea will pay over 20 Million pounds for a player who has not proved himself in one of Europe’s major leagues.
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