Brazilian striker Robinho was one of Manchester City's marquee signings which started the revolution under then new owners, Abu Dhabi United Group, in 2008. Robinho signed with Manchester City from Real Madrid for £32.5 million on September 1st, 2008, after weeks of speculation linking him to a move to Chelsea.
The former Real Madrid striker has now revealed that he wanted to make the switch to London club Chelsea and play under Brazilian manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari, in 2008, but couldn't complete the deal because Real Madrid pulled the plug on the deal.
Robinho said that the reason Real Madrid sold him to Manchester City was because Madrid were unhappy that Chelsea were selling shirts before the deal was confirmed.
"I wanted to go to Chelsea, Scolari told me that I could make the difference for him in the team. However, Real Madrid ended up badly with them, they didn't like the way that Chelsea sold shirts with my name on them before the deal was done," said Robinho.
"I am sure it was this that led to the negotiations to fail and it was a case 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," Robinho added.
The Brazilian striker said that he was glad that the move to Manchester City happened as he said that he was welcomed well by the club and the supporters despite Manchester being much colder than Madrid!
In his 53 appearances for the Manchester club, Robinho scored 16 times but then moved on loan to former club Santos, as he was unhappy at being on the bench. The 34-year-old now plays for Turkish club Sivasspor.
