Remember Chelsea midfielder Ramires? See his whereabouts

• Ramires played for Chelsea in the English Premier League. 
• He is among the few players who have won the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. 
• Ramires is currently a free agent. The Brazilian has been without a club for the past two seasons. 

Ramires is not a strange name to football fans. The Brazilian international is one of the best midfielders to ever play for Chelsea. 

Ramires has the ability to play as a central midfielder or right midfielder. The former Chelsea man normally plays as a box-to-box midfielder because of his energy in supporting attacks as well as defence. His high work rate is useful when his team is attacking. 

Ramires’ ability to make late attacking runs into the penalty area has occasionally seen him play as an attacking midfielder. Football fans have praised him as a strong tackler for his overall speed and consistency. 

Ramires possesses good skills just like other top Brazilian footballers we have seen in Europe. 

A good number of football fans forgot about Ramires after he left the English Premier League. However, some Chelsea fans still remember him for his Goal of the Year against Barcelona during the 2011-12 season. 

Well, Ramires began his football career as a teenager at Royal Sport Club in 2004. He later moved to Joinville, where he spent one season with the youth team. He joined Joinville’s senior team in 2006 and really gave an impressive performance in his first season. 

Ramires was signed by Brazilian Serie B club, Cruzeiro the following season. He spent two seasons at the club, where he was one of the best players in the league. 

Ramires moved to Europe for the first time in 2009, where he joined Benfica. He helped the club win the Primeira Liga and the Taca da Liga in his first and only season. He made 24 league appearances and managed to score four goals. 

Ramires was one of the most targeted players by top European clubs during the 2010 summer transfer window. The Brazilian international eventually joined Chelsea for 22 million euros during that transfer window.  

He was very crucial for the Blues in his first season at the Stamford Bridge. He made over 40 appearances for Chelsea across all competitions and managed to score two goals. It was in his first season that he scored Chelsea’s Goal of the Year against Manchester City.

Ramires. Photo/ Sky Sports

Ramires continued his impressive performance the next season as he helped the Premier League giants win the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. The Brazilian is the player who scored the equalizer against FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou to ensure Chelsea had a spot in the UEFA Champions League final, which they eventually won. He also scored at the FA Cup final, where Chelsea defeated Liverpool 2-1. 

He became a fan favourite at the Stamford Bridge due to his work rate and individual brilliance. The fans nicknamed him “Rambo”. The 2011-12 season is still his best as he won two major titles and two individual awards.

Ramires continued his impressive performance until January 2016, when he left the English Premier League. The midfield maestro left Chelsea after helping them win five titles.

He moved to Chinese club Jiangsu Suning where he signed a four-year contract. However, he was released by Jiangsu Suning in May 2019, a year after making his last appearance for the club.

The Brazilian returned to his home country, where he signed a four-year contract with Palmeiras. He helped the Brazilian Serie A giants win three titles in his first season, where he made 33 appearances. Ramires and Palmeiras, however, parted ways by mutual consent before the start of the 2020-21 season. 

The Brazilian has been without a club for the last two football seasons. The 35 years old is among the free agents this summer. Ramires is still among the best midfielders to ever play for Chelsea in the English Premier League. 

He also represented the Brazilian national team 52 times before the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where he played his last international match. He was among the Brazilian team that won the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2009 that was played in South Africa. 

Ramires, who used to rock shaved hair and no beard, currently looks so different. The Brazilian currently has a lovely barnet and shaved hair.

Ramires’ current look. Photo/ SPORTbible