Robinho: Chelsea Up Bid to £28.4m, Will the Brazilian Signing Leave Manchester United, Arsenal & Liverpool Struggling to Compete?
It’s been reported that Chelsea have upped their bid for Real Madrid’s Robinho to £28.4m as they look to add the young Brazilian to their already impressive looking squad. Fresh from a 4-0 hammering of Portsmouth on the opening weekend, Robinho would add more flair and unpredictability to Felipe Scolari’s ever improving squad of players who look set to live up to their billing as favourites for the title as predicted by Football Pools Pundits Alan Hansen, John Barnes and Tony Cascarino.
Real Madrid’s Brazilian box of tricks Robinho has reportedly declared his desire to leave the club as Chelsea’s pursuit of the star began to hot up. Contract negotiations between the player and club stalled at the Bernabeu and the exciting star announced to the Spanish newspaper Marca, “I have the desire to leave Real Madrid.”
It’s of no surprise Robinho is hot property as he enjoyed his most productive season so far in the last campaign as he scored 11 goals in 32 League appearances (27 starts). Since joining Real Madrid in July 2005, the Brazilian hasn’t quite lived up to the huge expectations placed on his young shoulders. However, in just 3 seasons Robinho has scored 25 goals in 101 League appearances despite playing under 4 different managers and has won 2 successive La Liga titles.
Last season he played much of his football on the left-wing whilst in his early career with Brazilian club Santos he was used in a far more attacking role which led to an impressive scoring rate of 44 goals in 104 League appearances. The 24-year-old’s form in his homeland led to personal accolades such as the Brazilian League’s top scorer, Player of the Year and the prestigious World Soccer Young Player of the Year award.
Robinho has continued to flourish at international level where he’s won 55 caps despite his tender age and the competition for places whilst scoring 13 goals. He struggled to make an impact at the 2006 World Cup but was named Player of the tournament as well as finished top scorer in Brazil’s 2007 Copa America win.
Prior to joining Real Madrid Arsene Wenger was a firm admirer of the youngster’s talent as were Tottenham and Liverpool. However, now it seems that Chelsea will win the race for his signature if the Spanish giants finally relent to the player’s wishes to move to Stamford Bridge. If Scolari can bring in the Brazilian then he will be spoilt for choice in nearly area of the team and Roman Abramovich may well get the fantasy football he desires whilst title rivals United, Liverpool and Arsenal may well find themselves in the wake of the new look exciting Blues.
Chelsea already have a formidable defence, the acquistion of Deco has added even more flair to a strong midfield unit whilst Robinho would add even more creativity to the Blues forward line or alternatively provide the width sometimes needed. Surely he would complete arguably the best squad in the Premier League.
So would you like to see Robinho doing his many step-overs in the Premier League? Do you think he would be a major hit for your club or do you feel his skills are not suited to the English game? Let’s hear your views.
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Tags: Arsenal, Brazil, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Premier League, Real Madrid, Robinho, Tottenham
August 22nd, 2008 at 08:25
I think we have shown that this season we mean business, we looked incredible at the weekend and RObinho would be the icing on the cake. there is no way liverpool, manchester united or Arsenal can live with us
August 22nd, 2008 at 09:35
How can the rest of the league compete with a team who are bankrolled by a billionaire with nothing better to do with his money than go after the best players money can buy.. and do Chelsea fans really get the same satisfaction when they see a team full of ready-made superstars on the field? Its the difference between building a business from your own sweat and tears or going out and buying a ready made business.. or beating a play-station game with a cheat code. You would expect to win everything, so there are no real high’s, no satisfaction, no pride just incredulity when you don’t win. Your team doesn’t add anything to the game - it doesn’t create anything new or special, it just reorganises what’s already available in favour of those with the deepest pockets.
It really isn’t sour grapes or jealousy when other supporters say I really wouldn’t want to be a Chelsea fan - its genuine, we really don’t want to be you.
August 22nd, 2008 at 09:46
I don’t understand why anybody thinks Robinho is worth that much. When I look at him a see a slightly more talented version of another extremely overrated player, SWP. he’s only coming for the money.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:23
“Chelsea look set to win the race for his signature.” Race? What race? They’re the only ones interested in signing him!
The proliferation of football blogs with no point is getting depressing.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:46
I think Chelsea might be unstoppable this year, and I tip them to take at least two trophies. But really, who cares? With the team they have bought they should win just about every game they play, and it would be almost laughable if they didn’t! I agree with Timus, with the whole thing feeling a bit empty as well…
Chelsea fans just don’t get it.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:48
I was super impressed with Chelsea at the weekend, they looked pretty solid and Deco looks like he’ll fit in well. I am a die-hard Man Utd fan, so watching Chelsea demolish Portsmouth in the way they did has made me pretty excited for the title race that is to come. I still think Utd will win the title though (if we can sign another forward) because I reckon Chelsea will start to lack the cohesion and team spirit that make good sides into great sides. The competition for places in midfield is too high, you have Lampard (he’s crap by the way), Ballack, Deco, Mikel (very crap, glad we sold him) and Essien who all prefer to play the centre of midfield. I wonder what Scolari will have to do to keep all those guys happy, cos they might start tearing at each other’s throats to get game-time. If Robinho arrives I think Chelsea will dazzle, but then you should sell a midfielder to make some space. The main difference between United and Chelsea is that United is full of brilliant AND passionate players, while Chelsea have brilliant players that sometime lack passion (barring the likes of Terry and Essien) and that will be your demise. (insert evil laugh here)
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:51
timus,
a win is still a win… with a ready made or tailored… the joy is still the same… it’s not like you bribe the other team to lose… that’s immoral…
August 22nd, 2008 at 14:01
No, there is a win and there is a WIN..
Ask Arsenal fans how the felt when Thomas scored at Anfield, deep into stoppage time, to nick the title off of Liverpool, a powerhouse of a team that hadn’t lost at home by 2 goals for years. You think it was the same for Utd fans when they won the league by 10 points a couple of years back? I dont doubt that they were delighted, but the same? Of course not.
August 27th, 2008 at 15:34
A look at the Premiership table this morning is good news for Liverpool fans. Two wins out of two and only Chelsea keeping us off the top. However, those who watched the first two games will know that we could just as easily be languishing in the bottom half of the table with Manchester United!