AC Milan player De Souza Robinho’s 730 days registered with Manchester City are over. We take a plunge into the archives and let his own words do the talking…
June 2008:
‘The situation is still the same, I want to play for Chelsea, as I have told the president, the coach and the sporting
director. I want to play there – I don’t know what more I can do. My personal aim is to be the best player in the world and that isn’t going to be possible at Real Madrid.
September 2008:
‘I have joined the biggest team in Manchester. I can already see a relationship with the supporters. I love this reaction. I want to win the championship and the Champions League. This club can be a special place. I am very happy to be here. I know about Mark Hughes. He was a forward, one of the best in the English league. He has played for many big clubs. He knows success.’
November 2008:
‘Look at the way Real treated me. They treated me like I was an average player. They made it very uncomfortable for me.’
November 2008:
‘The city of Madrid is a beautiful city and my family loved living there but I don’t like making comparisons because Madrid is Madrid and I am here today…we sometimes go to the cinema or the theatre, normal things. I spend most of the time at home…I have to look for my happiness and that is being out on the pitch, playing well and scoring goals. That makes me happy. Nowadays I’m doing that and I feel very, very happy here.’
January 2009:
– Walks out of City squad training camp in Tenerife and flies home without permission for a week in Brazil. It transpired he wanted to be at home for his 25th birthday with his family. City fined him a Premier League record £320,00 upon his return.
‘I had made Manchester City aware that I needed to return to Brazil because of a family matter. I will return to the club and hope to sort this out as soon as possible. I feel it is important to underline that I did not return to Brazil because of the Kaka deal. He is one of my good friends and it would have been great to see him at Manchester City – but it had nothing to do with his decision to stay in Milan.’
January 2009:
‘I have a good relationship with Mark Hughes and have always respected his decisions. He is the boss!’
February 2009:
‘I like living in Manchester and I have made many friends at the club and at the city, since I arrived last year. I admire the Manchester City fans, who are true lovers of football and loyal to the players.’
April 2009:
‘Of course this is only my first year, and I try to get better and better every year. Hopefully in the future I can
be even happier at this football club. Of course expectations are high over how the team will do, but my aim is to remain here for a long time to come…My relationship with the manager is very good. He is a very good manager. He gives me total confidence, and he and the team help me to produce my best football for the club.’
September 2009:
‘It’s not easy to say no to a club like Barcelona.They are European champions, they’re in a lovely city and I like Spain a lot. I have always wanted to play at clubs like Barcelona. It’s a great club, any player would be happy for them to show an interest. I’m happy that Barcelona have taken notice of me. I like Barcelona, they’re a great club.’
November 2009:
‘I am so happy with my club. People talk a lot but the truth is I’m trying to be happy to play again.’
December 2009:
‘I am very happy here. I think I will stay here five years or 10 years, I don’t know. My family is very happy, the fans love me and I love the fans. I am enjoying playing English football. It is very beautiful. With every game I play, I feel more comfortable. I hope to continue playing football in England for a long time.’
December 2009:
‘I want to talk with Mancini. I’ve heard good news about his work and City still have plenty of time to finish the season well. The decision for Hughes to go was down to the owners but it did not come as a
surprise after all the rumours. But the Champions League zone is not so far for us and we are in the Carling Cup semi-finals.’
January 2010:
– Following double substitution for embarrassing non performance against Everton and subsequent loan move to Santos:
‘Mancini has a different way of thinking. In Brazil, the coach respects the player’s characteristics. But in Europe, they are used to playing with two lines of four players and they don’t want to know what you can do. There, if you are a forward, the coach sends you on to the pitch just to run. You have to run and that’s it.’
June 2010:
– Ignores Brazil WAG ban and flies family out to South Africa for World Cup:
‘The family is the foundation of everything for me. It is too bad I could not score a goal for my son against North Korea.’
June 2010:
‘At Madrid, I was not satisfied with the way they treated me in the end. I was disappointed in how they talked about me like I was some kind of merchandise or currency. It would take some convincing to get me to return but I don’t have any problems with the people running Real now.’
August 2010:
‘With all due respect to Turkish football, I’m not going to play there right now.’
August 2010:
‘In Milan I feel like I’m at home. The ‘rossoneri’ has Brazilian blood.
You can understand why I’m pleased with the transfer.I prefer not to speak about City.’
September 2010:
‘Neither Hughes nor Mancini understood me. Perhaps they only believed in the sporting side of things…I am a special footballer and I need to be happy when I’m playing. That was the case at Real Madrid but never at City. Perhaps I should never have left Real Madrid…England is a hard country and I had problems adapting.
‘Manchester is a sensational venue for football but an awful place to live…the winter, the cold and the dark nights.
‘The best stadiums are Anfield and Old Trafford because of their histories, and my best memories will be my first goal for City and how happy everyone was with me, and the support City fans gave me during my stay.’
September 2010:
“People spoke about jealousy towards Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor but that was not the case. I always offered my best on the field but Mancini didn’t seem to feel that I did.”
Robinho made 48 League and Cup appearances for City and scored 15 goals.
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