Goal.com invites you, the reader, to weigh in on the debate surrounding Robinho's transfer to Manchester City. Did he make the right choice, or should he have held out for a January move to Chelsea? Should he have left Madrid at all? You decide...

Few transfers this summer ignited as much controversy and discussion as did Robinho's move to Manchester City. England's most expensive import, the Brazilian left Real Madrid under a cloud in search of pastures new.

Of course, he - and everyone else - thought that Chelsea would be his destination, at least until City, flush with Dubai dinero, swooped in at the last minute to bring him to Eastlands.

Thus this wonder winger won't be playing Champions League football this season - nor perhaps even next - as he teams up with Mark Hughes instead of Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Is this at all proper? Is it right? Many have questioned his wisdom in forcing an exit from Madrid, only to arrive at a UEFA Cup side. Some feel that he should have waited until January in the hope that Madrid lost their nerve and sold him to Chelsea; others still argue that he shouldn't have sought to leave the Bernabéu at all, and instead he should have made his peace with the club over 'Ronaldogate' and his being kept back from the Olympics.

Others still will say that, with newly-minted City, he has every chance of achieving his dream of the Ballon d'Or in the next few years, and that a lucrative opportunity like this was too great to pass up.

Could be. But what do you think? Click here to vote and we'll announce the results on Monday... after the Manchester City versus Chelsea game, of course!

Seguir leyendo...

Spain’s goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas says that he does not hold any resentment towards Robinho after the Brazilian superstar decided to leave Real Madrid.

Robinho caused quite a ruckus at the Real Madrid camp during the summer when he made his now infamous public pleas to leave the Santiago Bernabéu.

He was eventually allowed to leave to sign for Manchester City but the club’s goalkeeper, Iker Casillas confessed that he does not have any ill-feelings towards the 24 year old.

“It is not something I am pre-occupied with because it’s all in the past. Every player decides on their own future and Robinho has chosen to leave Real Madrid,” the Spanish international captain revealed during La Selección’s press conference.

“I am grateful for what he has done for the team and I wish him all the best in Manchester City,” he added.

Casillas was then asked if Robinho’s exit coupled with the club’s failure to sign their intended targets, such as the player who was sitting next to him in the press call, David Villa, has disrupted the squad dynamics.

“I don’t think it has changed anything. And I do not believe that these players said no to Real Madrid.

“They all want to come but obviously, there are negotiations and it is necessary to come to an agreement first,” he theorized.

Real Madrid saw their jinx at the Riazor continue last weekend when they slumped to a 2-1 defeat. The league will resume next Saturday at the conclusion of the International break and Los Merengues will welcome newly promoted Numancia to the Bernabéu cauldron.

KS Leong

Seguir leyendo...

The Sun reports that Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari is livid after top target Robinho signed for Manchester City...

The Blues had been odds-on to land the Brazilian superstar after he declared his desire to leave Real Madrid sign on at Stamford Bridge.

Los Merengues had accepted a £28.4million bid and the deal was all but complete when Chelsea's impatience effectively scuppered the transaction.

The London giants jumped the gun to disastrous effect when they began selling shirts emblazoned with Robinho's name through their online shop last week.

That was enough to tip the Spanish champions over the edge in what was already a tense negotiation process, and the initial deal fell through.

Scolari made no secret of his admiration for Robinho and singled out the 24-year-old as the one player he hoped to sign this summer after landing Deco from Barcelona.

The former Brazil coach attempted to play it cool, insisting it made no difference if he captured the ex-Santos prodigy or not, but Chelsea sources suggest otherwise.

“He is too professional to make a fuss but this is a blow,” an insider told The Sun.

Further fuelling Scolari's wrath is the fact Chelsea turned down the opportunity to land Robinho on deadline day.

Los Blancos had accepted a bid of £32.5million from newly cashed-up City and challenged the Blues to match it - but the Premier League powerhouses were not willing to stump up the extra £4million.

Hence, the Selecao star made his way to Eastlands instead in an English record transfer, while Scolari was left demanding answers from chief executive Peter Kenyon and owner Roman Abramovich.

The source added: “It’s no secret that Chelsea has paid a lot of money for players in the last few years.

“Some of those players have been successful and others not so.

“Felipe understands the budget has a limit but feels that he did not ask too much of the club.

“He bought Deco for £8million and made it clear how important Robinho was to his plans for the season.

“So he is entitled to feel let down that the club would not increase its offer by £4m to get the player.”

Cecil Braun

Seguir leyendo...

Bernd Schuster stated that Robinho's outburst was not worth his attention after seeing Real Madrid lose their opening game of the season at Deportivo La Coruña.

The German coach was asked about the Brazilian's announcement that he wanted to leave the club and join Chelsea and said that he was not going to even consider it.

"Today is not Robinho day, it was our day and the game is what is important. What Robinho does really does not interest me. He does not deserve the attention," Schuster said.

Madrid have not won at Riazor since the 1991-92 campaign and Schuster was able to joke about his preparations for Los Merengues visit next term.

"I do not know what it is, but there is something about this place. We will spend the next few months studying this if we need to bribe the referee or play with an extra player," he said with a smile.

"We have tried everything, but Depor have beaten us and we have to congratulate them."

When asked if he felt Madrid were in need of a new forward to add a spark, Schuster stated that he was happy with that area and said it was his defence that needed to work harder.

"I do not think we lacked anything up front, we just needed to be more attentive at set pieces, that was what we should have done," he continued.

"It is not worrying because we dominated the game and I felt that the forwards did well.

Lucas Brown, Goal.com

Seguir leyendo...

El Mundo Deportivo reports that Robinho's move to Chelsea from Real Madrid could yet be back on the agenda after it hit the rocks. Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón is apparently willing to accept €25m plus Didier Drogba for the winger...

With reports this morning indicating that Robinho's move to London had broken down due to Madrid's failure to find a suitable replacement, MD proposes a solution that could already be in the works.

With Madrid short on forward options but with plenty of wide talent, it could be the case that they seek a striker instead of a winger to compensate for the loss of the Brazilian.

Thus Didier Drogba, who had earlier entertained the notion of a move away from Stamford Bridge, could be on his way to the Spanish capital.

It is thought that Madrid will put to Chelsea the idea of the Blues' paying €25m and the Ivorian in exchange for Robinho, whom they annoucned was a major target on Wednesday.

Indeed, MD is confident that, even should Drogba stay put, Robinho will still make it to the Bridge before the transfer window slams shut after the weekend.

Drogba, 30, may provide competition to Ruud van Nistelrooy and Raúl in what would be an "old but gold" forward line.

Meanwhile Robinho is highly regarded by Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari, as well as chief executive Peter Kenyon and midfielder Frank Lampard.

Steve Michaels, Goal.com

Seguir leyendo...

Real Madrid have agreed to sell Robinho to Chelsea for €35m and will spend the transfer fee on signing Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Diego Capel before the transfer window closes.

Los Merengues have decided to accept the Blues' offer after meetings on Monday saw the Spanish giants decide to use the money immediately to sign two players that coach Bernd Schuster wants, according to AS.

Robinho's transfer will be made official later this week, while Madrid will lodge bids for both Huntelaar and Capel as quickly as possible in order to open talks.

Negotiations with Sevilla will be swift as Madrid's offer of €15m matches Capel's buy-out clause and all that will have to be decided is whether or not the player wants to move.

The 20-year-old has stated in the past that the only club that he would leave the Andalucian outfit for is Madrid and now that will be tested with an official offer.

Huntelaar has been linked with several clubs, but Schuster's insistence that he have another striker before the start of the new campaign has pushed the board to make their move now.

Valencia are refusing to accept any offer for David Villa, so Madrid will press for the Ajax striker to join them in the next few days in a move which will delight the German trainer.

An initial offer of around €25m should see the Dutch club willing to open talks and the Bernabéu outfit will hope that the Netherlands contingent already in their ranks will help smooth the deal through.

Schuster has been keen to sort out the Robinho saga and add to his squad after becoming infuriated that the club's summer became focussed solely on the unsuccessful chase for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Lucas Brown, Goal.com

Seguir leyendo...

The Robinho transfer soap opera could finally come to a close as his move to Chelsea could be completed within the next few hours.

Spanish daily Marca have speculated that the Brazilian winger could be on his way out of the Spanish capital headed for the English capital in a matter of hours.

According to the reports from the Madrid-based newspaper, Robinho last week rejected club president Ramón Calderón’s latest contract offer, which is believed to be roughly the same amount as what Chelsea were prepared to offer him. This has convinced Calderón to concede that no amount of money will be able to tempt the 24 year old to remain at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Despite coach Bernd Schuster’s optimism that the playmaker will stay on with the blancos squad, his exit has been made all the more imminent after events at the weekend.

Firstly, Robinho was heckled and jeered by a group of fans before the squad left for the game against Valencia. And just before the start of the match, he was whistled at when his name was read out on the stadium’s PA system. The most obvious sign, ofcourse, was his muted celebrations with the rest of the team in the background, away from the spotlight when Madrid eventually beat Los Ché for the Supercopa.

The question of how he will leave and for how much is a different matter altogether.

Seguir leyendo...

According to the player's agent, Real Madrid forward Robinho is about to see his wish of moving to Chelsea granted...

The deal taking the 24-year-old to Stamford Bridge is set to be completed imminently, according to Wagner Ribeiro. Media stories today have suggested that the transfer is already in place, and the agent's quotes serve to substantiate these reports.

Apparently, Chelsea are on the brink of offering €33million to capture the Brazil international, who is now desperate to leave the Bernabeu.

Robinho suffered the humiliation of being booed by his own supporters at the weekend, as Madrid clinched the Spanish Super Cup against Valencia.

As of today, Wagner Ribeiro expects the deal to go through before the transfer deadline, despite admitting that the opposite was true last week.

He told the press: "The deal is about to be reached. Robinho's cycle in Spain has come to an end and he is looking forward to a new project."

Should Robinho arrive at Luiz Felipe Scolari's side, Shaun Wright-Phillips may be forced through the exit door, most probably to former club Manchester City.

Seguir leyendo...