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Real Madrid’s pride was the reason behind Robinho’s failed Chelsea transfer

The Brazilian forward Robinho revealed that he was ready to move to Chelsea in 2008, but that move failed to go through due to Real Madrid's pride.

File photo of Robinho. Credit: Twitter


Bengaluru, September 11: Brazilian forward Robinho revealed that he was ready to move to Chelsea in 2008, but that move failed to go through due to Real Madrid's pride. Robinho recently revealed that Luiz Felipe Scolari, who had just joined Chelsea as a manager in 2008, had big plans for him and transfer talks was in progress too. But La Liga club Real Madrid didn't like The Blues' shirt selling with Robinho's name before the deal complete.

Finally, Robinho moved to another Premier League club Manchester City in that summer for a transfer fee of around €43 million. The 34-year-old Brazilian striker told FourFourTwo, "My main goal was to move to Chelsea. Big Phil [Scolari] had said I could make the difference for him. His squad, according to him, was not creative enough.

"But Real Madrid had fallen out with Chelsea. They didn't like them selling shirts with my name on before the deal had been done. I am pretty sure that this error was one of the main reasons why the transfer failed, as it was a matter of pride for Real Madrid.

"They were also reluctant to let me move to a club that was playing in the Champions League that season. Chelsea were, but City weren't. I moved to a great club and they welcomed me in the best way. I had one-and-a-half years of joy in Manchester, despite the city being a lot colder than Madrid!"

In his one-and-a-half-season with City, Robinho appeared in 53 matches where he scored 16 goals and assisted 12 more. Though the club hadn't won a trophy during his tenure, he admired the club's project and felt very honoured to become the first marquee signing.

Robinho said, "From the day I arrived, I could see City's project was destined to be a success and the club would grow - but I didn't think it would be quite so fast. I didn't know much about the club before I got there, but I always felt very honoured to have been the first marquee signing.

"I started well, but unfortunately there weren't as many great names as there are these days. Man City are the only side I've left without winning a title."

Story first published: Tuesday, September 11, 2018, 19:07 [IST]
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