By David Owen
January 27 – Roman Abramovic’s Chelsea look set to be the latest beneficiaries of the tide of Chinese money washing into European football. The likely transfer of Brazilian midfielder Ramires to Jiangsu Suning, a Chinese Super League club based in Nanjing, the former capital city, should provide a handy boost to the London side’s profits in 2015-16.
The 28-year-old, who has won more than 50 Brazil caps, arrived at Stamford Bridge five-and-a-half years ago on an £18 million transfer from Portugal’s Benfica.
In the intervening period, the player’s value on Chelsea’s books will have been whittled away to a fraction of that original fee by a process known as amortisation. Insideworldfootball’s calculations suggest that his current book value may approximate to at most £2.7 million. That means that the vast majority of his new fee – reported to be £20-25 million – can be counted as profit.
The reigning Premier League champions, whose form has improved in recent weeks under Guus Hiddink after a desperately disappointing start to the season, reported a pre-tax loss of £22.7 million in 2014-15, a marked deterioration from the previous year’s £19.1 million profit.
With nine Premier League clubs having so far reported, Chelsea’s 2014-15 loss is comfortably the biggest to date. Though the club, in common with its domestic rivals, will benefit from the league’s lucrative new round of broadcasting contracts, the influx of funds from the Brazilian’s expected exit appears particularly opportune.
Jiangsu Suning, which changed its name from Jiangsu Sainty following the club’s recent purchase by the Suning Commerce Group, are current holders of the Chinese FA Cup, a victory that qualified them for the 2016 Asian Champions League.
The group stage for this year’s competition gets under way next month, with Jiangsu drawn to face South Korean and Vietnamese opposition. Another Chinese club, Guangzhou Evergrande, part-owned by the internet company Alibaba, are the current Asian champions.
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