Meireles leaves Chelsea - Underrated ?

I have to say the news that Raul Meireles left Chelsea yesterday wasn't a surprise really was it? The only surprising thing about this was that he never ended up with AVB at White Hart Lane.

Meireles had been a long term target for Chelsea if reports were to be believed as recent summers past. The deal never happened until a last minute move from AVB brought him to Stamford Bridge. That was deal that was out of the blue and I think if all of us are honest, it was one that came about to "fill a void" and that's no disrespect to him at all.

One thing I will say about him is that he always gave 100% in every game he played. He may not have had his fans amongst blues fans but I want to bring to your attention two recent games he had that I feel were the best he had in a Chelsea shirt.

The first game was at the Nou Camp. Like the other players once Chelsea went down to ten men, he gave everything even after knowing that he would miss the Champions League final after being booked.

The second game was Newcastle at home just over a week ago. Where people have criticised the Mikel/Lampard combination in the double pivot, Meireles demonstrated a masterclass of how to play in that position. Giving the ball early, through balls, long and short balls and hard work around the middle of the pitch, it was just as good as the Nou Camp.

Raul Meireles is a good player and maybe a player that is either underrated or unappreciated. Chelsea have taken a £4m loss on him by selling him for £8m but I guess with the players that have come into the club, he would have had to settle for a place on the bench more often than not.

Just as Chelsea said on the official website, he played his part in our double success last season and will always be remembered for that.

Thank you Raul and good luck in Turkey.