Ex-Chelsea star Ramires looks unrecognisable after he gets new hair following his switch to Chinese Super League, picture emerges 

Former Chelsea midfielder Ramires has stunned fans with a dramatic transformation after growing out his hair nine years after his China move. Ramires played a key role in Chelsea’s success between 2010 and 2016. He made the surprising switch to Chinese side Jiangsu Suning in early 2016 for a reported fee of €28 million.

The Brazilian had a memorable time in his six-year stay at Stamford Bridge as he won every available trophy for the west London club. He is mostly renowned among the Blues faithful for his goal against Barcelona in the semifinal of the 2011-12 Champions League campaign. They went on to win the final against Bayern Munich.

During his time at Chelsea, Ramires was instantly recognizable for his short, almost bald haircut, a style he maintained throughout his Premier League career. However, a recent video and picture posted on social media show the 37-year-old with significantly longer hair, a stark contrast to his former look.

Ramires recently appeared on Podfalando Podcast on Instagram. He wore a short-sleeve shirt showing tattoos that barely showed during his playing days. In the interview, the midfielder talked about his meteoric rise to stardom.

In 2019, Ramires left Jiangsu Suning and returned to his native Brazil to play for Palmeiras. He spent one season at the club and called time on his professional career in 2020.

Ramires joined Chelsea in 2010 from Portuguese side Benfica for a reported fee of €22 million. Throughout his time at Chelsea, he scored 34 goals and provided 17 assists in 251 appearances across competitions. Altogether, he won five trophies with the Blues, which include the Premier League, the UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup, the Europa League, and the Carabao Cup.

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"Jiangsu introduced me to a long-term project where I would be a key player" – When Ramires said his decision to leave Chelsea for the Chinese Super League was not financially motivated

Ramires’ decision to leave the west London side when Chinese side Jiangsu Suning came calling raised eyebrows. He saw his playing time reduced at the start of the 2015-16 season. He was an unused substitute in the Blues' first league game under then-manager Jose Mourinho. He did get playing minutes in subsequent matches but not as before.

Mourinho was sacked from the club on December 17. Guus Hiddink took over the managerial reins of the club two days later after Steve Holland had managed the club for a day. In Hiddink’s first game in charge in his second stint at Chelsea (a 2-2 home draw to Watford in the Premier League), Ramires was an unused substitute. He played just 20 minutes in the Blues' next league match as a substitute.

However, he couldn’t feature in the next four league games before his departure in 2016. A few months after Ramires left Chelsea, he revealed the reason behind his move to China, stating that it wasn’t for financial reasons as opposed to the perception of many.

Ramires told GOAL:

"I see a lot of people saying that I came to China just for the money, but that's not true. 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. 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 scored 17 goals and provided 13 assists for Jiangsu in 73 appearances across competitions.