EXCLUSIVE
Former Chelsea midfielder Ramires has revealed the truth behind his move to China, claiming that it wasn't strictly for financial reasons.
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The Brazilian spent six seasons at Stamford Bridge after joining from Benfica in 2010, before signing a four-year contract at Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning in a £25 million move.
And while the fortune of his new club was well-documented following his decision to join, Ramires insists his decision was not solely influenced by his increased pay packet.
"I see a lot of people saying that I came to China just for the money, but that's not true," Ramires told Goal. "If you look at the situation I was going throughat 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.
"The money issue weighed on the decision, I put it on the scale that I am already 29 years old and that an irrefutable opportunity like this may never come again. But the way things were happening at Chelsea was the main reason."
Ramires losing his place under Hiddink and his move to China coincided with his exclusion from the Brazil national team, for whom he had previously made 52 appearances, though he does not believe leaving the Premier League had a direct impact on his role for his country.
"In relation to the Brazilian national team, I do not think I gave up on my country, so much so that some Brazilians who are playing in China are constantly called up. I think it depends more on the evaluation of the coach of the Selecao than on where you play.
"It has always been a pleasure and a great pride for me to defend Brazil and I still have this desire to be called back. I see myself in total condition to help and I will try to continue doing a good job for that to happen."
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Ramires, who scored 37 goals in 246 games for the Blues, highlighted his effort against Barcelona as his favourite and told of his friendship with those he played with at Stamford Bridge.
"I cannot deny that the special moment for me was when I scored the goal over Valdes on Camp Nou in the semi-finals of Champions League," Ramires added. "The importance of that moment was so great that people asked me to talk about the goal and did not ask for the title. It was something magical, that was eternalised in my memory and in the memory of every fan of Chelsea.
"I've had a lot of friends at Chelsea, it's hard to talk about one or the other. It was a very good group to work with and I miss them all, especially Willian, Kenedy and Diego Costa, who were the ones who had the most friendship out of the field recently."