Manchester City in talks over Robinho exit
Manchester City are said to have entered into talks with two unnamed clubs over the potential transfer of striker Róbson de Souza (‘Robinho’) out of the English Premier League outfit. It has been reported that manager Roberto Mancini is keen to offload the player, with whom he has a strained relationship.
City are reportedly looking for at least £20m for the 26-year-old who cost them £32.5m from Real Madrid two years ago and became the most expensive football player in Britain in the process. After falling out of favour at City and admitting that he needed to be playing more regularly if he was to be included in Brazil’s 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Robinho spent six months on loan with his old club Santos in Brazil.
With City having more players than they can possibly fit into a 25-man squad under new English Premier League rules and more signings potentially on the way – particularly that of Mario Balotelli from Inter Milan – they will need to allow some of their big names to leave if those not named in the squad are to avoid spending the season watching matches from the stands.
Included in squad
However, Robinho has been included in the City squad for their UEFA Europa League qualifying play-off tie against Romanian side Timisoara, leading some to believe that he may still be included in the league squad if City fail to sell him before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.
After a strong showing at the World Cup in South Africa, Robinho is on the transfer wish-lists of several clubs throughout Europe. Besiktas and Schalke have been linked with the player while Chelsea had looked set to sign him before his switch to City, but the identities of the two clubs involved in the talks have not been revealed.
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