Such was the air of apparent inevitability surrounding
Robinho's proposed transfer from Real Madrid to Chelsea that the
London club, in a moment of pure lunacy, began selling Robinho
replica shirts online. As fate would have it, this shameless stunt
proved to be the final nail in chief executive Peter Kenyon's
pursuit of the Brazilian superstar and, going into transfer
deadline day, the saga was thought to be over.
The player remained desperate to engineer an exit from the Santiago
Bernabéu - where he had burned all bridges - but the club
maintained that, in light of their failure to secure the signing of
an adequate replacement, the 24-year-old would remain with
them.
The twist came when Abu Dhabi United Group - a consortium headed by
Dr. Sulaiman Al-Fahim - announced their takeover of Manchester
City, formerly owned by Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra. The former Thai
Prime Minister's misery was at an end. While he remains chairman of
the club, he is now backed by billions of dollars courtesy of the
United Arab Emirates' sovereign wealth fund, thought to be 10 times
in excess of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
The Citizens were linked with a plethora of big names on deadline
day - which was when the takeover was announced - and in the end
met Madrid's lofty asking price for Robinho. The club saw it in
their best interests to offload the player for their own good, and
the added bonus of not seeing him go to a Champions League rival
whose continued approach for the forward had angered the Spanish
champions.
Amid much criticism, Robinho accepted the move - thought to be as a
means to an end and little more - and has since vocalised his
optimism that the club can climb into the top four and beyond. Once
he returns from international duty with Brazil next week, the
former Santos man will make his debut against Chelsea.
The Blues have remained adamant that while they are upset to have
not landed Robinho, they were not outbid, and simply refused to
meet Real's valuation of the samba star. He begs to differ. "It is
Real's fault that I did not sign for Chelsea but it is also
Chelsea'a fault," he told The People. "I don't think they
managed it very well. They waited until the last minute and it
turned out badly for them."
It did not take long for the Brazilian to embarrass himself, as in
one of his first interviews as a Man City player he accidentally
referred to them as Chelsea. He has himself admitted that he was
looking forward to linking up with Chelsea coach and countryman
Luiz Felipe Scolari - who requested just he and Deco upon
appointment at Stamford Bridge - but ultimately, Robinho just wants
to be where he is loved. "My head was at Chelsea but now that is
forgotten," he insists. "I know Scolari is upset with me but these
things happen.
"When I play against them I will show that they were wrong not to
raise their offer. City presented the offer five hours before the
deadline and until then I had not been thinking about them at
all."
Micah Richards, now a team-mate of Robinho, admitted his disbelief
at the signing and the fantasy football world of which City are now
a part. "I was glued to the TV last Monday listening to all these
bids we were making for world-class players," the defender told the
Sunday Mirror. "In the end I fell asleep and just after
midnight my best mate rang me and said, 'We've signed Robinho.' I
thought I was still dreaming and said, 'Yeah, whatever.' But then I
turned the TV back on and there it was. I mean, he's the kind of
player you would usually only pick for City if you were playing a
computer game."
Richards, rated as one of the best young defenders in England, has
been linked with his favourite club, Arsenal, as well as City's
rivals Manchester United. However, following the takeover - City's
second in as many years and with what appears to be more stability
than Dr. Shinawatra - it is expected that the youngster will stick
it out with the Citizens as they attempt to fulfil Dr. Al-Fahim's
lofty visions of greatness. "Hopefully it is a sign of things to
come and City will be winning trophies and playing in the Champions
League every year," said a hopeful Richards. "If the things the new
owner has said are true, this is City's chance to grab football by
the scruff of the neck - and I can't wait."
