Chelsea hero Ramires shares what fans ‘always say’ when they see him now, makes point about ‘big games’…

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Some truly top-class central midfielders have played for Chelsea over the years, including former cult hero Ramires.

When you look at Chelsea’s history, so many outstanding midfielders graced the pitch for them at Stamford Bridge. Of course, Frank Lampard is the Blues legend who sits at the top of the pile in that regard.

Former Chelsea midfielders include the likes of Lampard, N’Golo Kante, Ruud Gullit, Michael Essien and Dennis Wise.

In addition, retired midfielder Ramires enjoyed a really successful spell as a Chelsea player between 2010-2016.

The Brazilian star played with the kind of energy in the centre of the park that made him a real fan favourite. Back in 2021, Ramires compared his own playing style to Chelsea great Kante.

• READ MORE: Ranking the top five Brazilian players to ever play for Chelsea, including Ramires in third spot

Ramires shares what Chelsea fans always say when they meet him now

Ramires has shared that Chelsea supporters are always bringing up the same moment from his career whenever he bumps into them nowadays.

Blues fans can’t help but mention the midfielder’s iconic goal in the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona in 2012, which played a major role in the journey to the club’s European triumph that season. Apparently, it’s the individual moment from a big game that always gets spoken about.

“Wherever I go, I always meet at least one Chelsea fan and always they come to me and say ‘Oh! Your goal against Barcelona!’. I think when Chelsea fans think about the big games, they think about that one,” Ramires said via Chelsea official website.

“We had training in the week before. We were doing some finishing and David [Luiz] came to me and said ‘Rami, when the goalkeeper comes, you must chip the ball’.

“I said okay, but in training I did one or two, but the ball did not go in the goal! Then in the game, I had that opportunity.

“Frank’s pass was amazing, the ball arrived for the one touch and finish. He put the ball in front of me and when I arrived there I chipped the ball, but I saw [Victor] Valdes coming and Dani Alves come from the left with another defender behind, [Carles] Puyol.

“I saw Valdes coming and if I shot to the side, maybe he could do the save, so when I saw the goal behind him I thought the only way is that, and I did it.

“When the ball dropped, I looked and I ran and then I looked again to see if the ball goes in. That was an amazing moment for me.”

As described above by Ramires, his goal will forever live in the memory of Blues supporters that watched it. It was a famous night at the Camp Nou where 10-man Chelsea recorded a 2-2 away draw to progress to the Champions League final. What followed was the miraculous victory in the final over Bayern Munich in their own backyard.

Ramires popped up with a few goals every season from midfield, but his beautifully chipped finish over Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes is the standout by a distance.

Can Moises Caicedo follow in Ramires’ footsteps?

In terms of profiles, we see plenty of similarities between current Chelsea star Moises Caicedo and former Blue Ramires, especially with the way that they cover the ground.

Caicedo has definitely been one of the most impressive midfield performers in the world this season. If he can add some more goals and assists to his name like Ramires did, he’s going to elevate his game to even newer heights.

Chelsea fans thought Caicedo was their best player in the FA Cup defeat to Brighton, which is a common trend with his eye-catching performances this season.

Finally, he’s starting to justify why he cost a massive £115m to sign 18 months ago. Can he now win the trophies and show up in the biggest games like some of his predecessors?