Robinho Reflects On Time at Real Madrid

Oh Robinho, what a player he was—few could produce step-overs quite as smoothly as the Brazilian. Despite what most media outlets will portray, Robinho was a very important player to Madrid during his three seasons at the club. In typical Brazilian fashion, he was able to produce magic out of nothing. At just 24 years of age, while the Brazilian was still developing, he up and left Madrid after their relentless pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo. Feeling under-valued and unappreciated, a deal with Chelsea was nearly finalized in the last few days of the 2008 summer transfer window. Instead, out of nowhere, came a massive bid from Machester City. Robinho was the first marquee signing for the newly rich Manchester club, funded by Sheikh Mansour and the Abu Dahbi United group. After leaving Madrid. his career regressed year after year and can now only be viewed as another highly touted youngster who failed to capitalize on their talent.

In an interview with FourFourTwo, Robinho looked back at his time on Madrid, maybe looking to heal old wounds. The forward did not leave on good terms with the club, but has seemed to move past those negative sentiments, “I don’t regret leaving Real Madrid, but I regret ending things badly with them. They were the club that opened their door for me and offered me the chance to conquer Europe. I was determined to leave and I think that erased the good things I did with them.” The Brazilian was candid in his interview and explained the breakdown in talks between Chelsea and Madrid, “I wanted to go to Chelsea, Scolari told me that I would make the difference for him. But Real Madrid ended things badly; they didn’t like Chelsea selling shirts with my name on them. It was a matter of pride for Real Madrid, I’m sure that’s why negotiations failed.” At the end of the day, a bigger offer from Manchester City—a club not in the Champions League nor in La Liga— arrived and it was the perfect solution for Madrid, but maybe not for the Brazilian who struggled.

Ultimately, Robinho’s transfer turned out to be some of the best bit of business ever done by the club. They offloaded a player with loads of potential, but a poor attitude for, eventually, the greatest Madrid player of all time—Cristiano Ronaldo. He signaled Manchester City’s attempt to break into football’s elite, but never became the player he, nor they, expected. Since then, Robinho has bounced around Brazil, Italy, and China never cementing a home and never capitalizing on his tremendous talent.