Ramires Hits out at Guus Hiddink over Chelsea Transfer to Jiangsu Suning

Former Chelsea star Ramires has said one of the driving forces behind his move to Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning in January was the arrival of Guus Hiddink at Stamford Bridge, as the Dutchman "didn't like" him.  

According to an exclusive from the Sun's Justin Allen, the midfielder opened up for the first time since making the £25 million move and explained his reasons for departing after six years at Chelsea:

"

One of the big reasons I left Chelsea was the arrival of the new coach. It wasn’t just because I had a good relationship with Jose [Mourinho]. But when he was in charge, I knew there was a chance of playing and that the fight for a place in the team was always open.

Yet when Hiddink arrived, he took me out of the side for no reason. I couldn’t understand why because I had played well and fought hard for a team that was having difficulties. He didn’t like me as a player or my way and decided very rashly that he wasn’t going to give me an opportunity to fight for a place in his team.

Even when I played the full 90 minutes against Scunthorpe [United], the next match in the Premier League I was not involved. I just sat on the bench the entire game and after that I wasn’t even a sub.

I was a long time out of matches there and I wanted to join in and help a team that was not in a great moment. And it was not easy to watch from the bench and see the team not performing well.

Hiddink’s arrival really complicated things for me and I just don’t know why... but I guess that’s football.

"

Ramires made just three appearances for Chelsea after Hiddink took charge in December, making late cameos against Sunderland and Manchester United before playing the full match against Scunthorpe in the FA Cup.

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

The 29-year-old had been a regular fixture in Mourinho's team with 17 appearances under his belt when the Portuguese was relieved of his duties, but he had only completed 90 minutes six times, so the drop-off in playing time was noticeable if not overly dramatic.

He appears to have settled in well with his new side, as his official Twitter account reveals:

Indeed, his quality appears to be shining through amid a lower standard of play, while his hard-working attitude has likely prevented him from adopting a lackadaisical attitude toward his new surroundings as some European-based players do when moving to Asia or MLS.

The Blues haven't particularly missed his presence, though, with Hiddink's side steadily improving as they progress in their slow march up the table. Indeed, Chelsea are now in the top half, four points clear of 11th-placed West Bromwich Albion and three points behind Southampton in seventh.

As Squawka Football revealed, Hiddink has maintained his exceptional record with the Blues from his previous spell in charge:

Ramires—who joined Chelsea after the Dutchman's first tenure at Stamford Bridge—left the club little more than a month after the interim boss took charge. While three appearances in a busy spell of the season isn't an inspiring amount of playing time, the 69-year-old is only a temporary appointment.

When Antonio Conte takes over this summer, he'll need to address the Blues' lack of options in central midfield caused, in part, by Ramires' departure.