Finally, after almost two years to the day, Manchester City have washed their hands of the great lame duck – Robinho.
It’s been a great mystery to the Premier League as to why the £32.5 million man failed to perform to his potential at Eastlands. While some might say it was the culture or the squad of City, it must be mentioned that Robinho was one of the first (and the most expensive) transfers to come in to the Blue Revolution after Sheikh Mansour’s takeover in 2008. After an impressive showing at Real Madrid in which Robinho was the team’s 3rd highest goal scorer, it was almost a given that the boy-wonder would come into Manchester and take the world by storm. In fact, had Robinho done what was expected of him, he could easily be in Carlos Tevez’s position – lead striker and team captain. Yet, as the story goes, Robinho flopped. Refusing to acclimate to life in Manchester, Robinho became a lame duck – not playing, making no impact, always complaining and still getting paid £150,000 a week.
But finally it has come to an end. In a deal that sees Robinho going to AC Milan, City will get £18million up front and £4 million more in add-ons. While its a near £10million loss for City, most of the supporters and especially Mancini are likely to see it as a blessing – like removing a cancer that has been eating away at morale, team spirit and money.
It’s very possible that the Brazilian striker will settle in nicely at the San Siro, however in the time being, I, like other City fans are just excited to see him go.
