Football
ESPN staff 10y

Mourinho: Ramires not joining Real

Jose Mourinho has warned European champions Real Madrid and their coach Carlo Ancelotti that Chelsea midfielder Ramires is not for sale.

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Ramires, 27, has reportedly become a summer target for Ancelotti, who brought the Brazilian to Stamford Bridge from Benfica in 2010 while manager of Chelsea.

Mourinho is busy rebuilding his squad for the new season and, despite bringing Cesc Fabregas to Stamford Bridge for a reported 30 million pounds, said Brazil international Ramires would not be leaving.

"Ramires is staying at Chelsea. He's not for sale," Mourinho told Marca. "I have an excellent friendship with important people within Real Madrid, and they know that Ramires is going to stay at Chelsea.

"Cesc is a great player who adds a new dimension to our side. He is different to [Nemanja] Matic, Ramires and Oscar. We will have a very complete midfield with him."

Mourinho moved to quash speculation after Ramires sung Ancelotti's praises following Brazil's World Cup-opening victory against Croatia on Friday.

"Ancelotti is a special coach for me and I really appreciate him," Ramires told Marca. "He helped me a lot when I arrived at Chelsea, and he was very important in helping me adapt to my position as a central midfielder. He's a very good coach."

Ramires -- who made 46 appearances for Chelsea last season -- came on as a late substitute in the 3-1 win in Sao Paulo, replacing Neymar with two minutes of normal time remaining.

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