Chelsea agrees terms for Ramires with Benfica

HIGHLY-RATED midfielder Ramires has continually been linked with a move away from Benfica since his good performances for Brazil at the 2010 World Cup, but the reigning Portuguese champion appeared to be reluctant to let go of the 23-year-old.
   The Aguias have now apparently changed their mind though, as a report in Record suggests that Benfica has reached an agreement with English powerhouse, Chelsea, over the transfer of the Cruzeiro former star. The Blues will reportedly pay a fee of 22 million euros to secure the services of the Brazilian international. 
   Benfica recently sold 50 per cent of the player's rights to an investment group for a fee of six million euros, meaning that it will only get 11 million euros from the fee Chelsea pays. However, it only paid a reported seven million euros fee for Ramires to Cruzeiro a year ago and will thus still make a 10 million euros profit on the young midfielder.
   Ramires was left out of Benfica's starting XI in its 4-1 friendly win against Aston Villa on Sunday in order not to take any unnecessary risks with the upcoming transfer in the back of its mind. 
   Both clubs involved in the transfer are yet to confirm it but an official statement from Benfica was expected to be released yesterday.