Former Chelsea midfielder Ramires has said that his move to the Chinese Super League wasn't based on money.
The Brazilian left Stamford Bridge forJiangsu Suning back in January, having won multiple trophies with the Blues. An established starter in the side for most of his time there, he fell down the pecking order eventually, and when the opportunity to leave came by, he did not pass itup.
Of course there was the temptation of a significant change in his wages, but the 29-year-old insists that his movewasn't just about the money, but was borne out of frustration as well.
"I see a lot of people saying that I came to China just for the money, but that's not true," he said toGoal (H/T theEvening Standard).
"If you look at the situation I was going through at Chelsea at the time of the transfer you will see that I was [Guus] Hiddink's last option in my position and this was frustrating me a lot.
"The situation was only getting worse and at that moment came the interest of the Chinese club.
"Jiangsu introduced me to a long-term project where I would be a key player, they offered me everything I could think of and more, and I decided together with my agent and family that this would be the best decision."
Ramires doesn't seem to have any regrets over his exit, especially knowing that he left his mark. There's not a Chelsea fan around who has forgotten his brilliant chipped goal that helped send the Blues to the Champions League final four years ago.
"I cannot deny that the special moment for me was when I scored the goal over [Victor] Valdes on Camp Nou in the semi-finals of Champions League," he said.
"It was something magical, that was eternalised in my memory and in the memory of every fan of Chelsea."