''On the last day, Chelsea made a great offer and I accepted.'' - Robinho, September 2008.
If anybody needed an inkling of a precedent for Robinho's ill-fated time at Manchester City, it was that slip of the tongue in his first press conference. One can't really blame the Brazilian, however - for him, it wasn't a matter of what name was on the jersey, but how many digits were in the proposed salary. Being honest, Robinho would have probably signed over his potential to Darlington Town had they offered him a couple of mansions and £150,000 p/wk. It wasn't just Robinho who made a social faux-pas during his farcical transfer six years ago, however. For Chelsea too, made the grave error of displaying an image of the 24 year old Brazilian in a club jersey on the website hours before he was seen penning a lucrative contract at Eastlands. No wonder he was so confused at what club he had actually signed for in the end. With Man City having only come in to a vast amount of riches hours before Robinho's deadline day move, it had indeed been the Londoners who had chased the unsettled Real Madrid trickster for weeks. Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon had stated that the club were 'confident' that the deal would be completed, with Madrid having given them the green light. With the former Santos prodigy reciprocating the desire to link up with the Blues, it looked like it was a match made in heaven. And then Abu Dhabi arrived. New Rolex, Robbie?
Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future.
Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.
