THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MANCHESTER, England — Manchester City beat Chelsea to signing Brazil striker Robinho by agreeing to pay Real Madrid a British-record 32.5 million-pound (C$62-million) transfer fee on Monday.
Robinho had repeatedly spoken of his desire to leave the Spanish champion for Chelsea, but City, boosted by a windfall from an imminent takeover by a United Arab Emirates business group, made a huge offer for the 24-year-old forward.
With Madrid unwilling to sell to Chelsea because of poor relations between the clubs, City was able to reach an agreement on the final day of English football’s summer transfer window.
"I am absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to work with such an incredible talent like Robinho," City manager Mark Hughes said on the club’s website. "I have said that in order to compete with the best teams in the Premier League we have to be in the market for players of this calibre, and Robinho is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world.
"This is a real statement of intent as to the ambitions of Manchester City Football Club."
Robinho won the Spanish league in the past two years with Madrid and has scored 11 times in 42 caps for Brazil.
Robinho was in Brazil on Monday for World Cup qualifiers, but City said he had signed a four-year contract.
Spanish sports daily Marca said on its website that City will pay Robinho six million euros (C$9.3 million) per season — about three times what he reportedly earned at Madrid.
City’s move to pair Robinho up front with fellow Brazilian striker Jo is one of the most audacious in English Premier League history.
Chelsea was so sure of signing the player that it had angered Madrid by briefly offering for sale shirts bearing his name. Madrid rejected Chelsea’s initial 32-million-euro (C$49.8-million) bid.
Only on Sunday, Robinho told a brief news conference that he had informed Madrid president Ramon Calderon, sports director Predrag Mijatovic and coach Bernd Schuster of his desire to move to Chelsea.
Chelsea, which was managed by Robinho’s former Brazil coach and compatriot Luiz Felipe Scolari, had reportedly offered Robinho a large increase on his current annual salary of about 2.1 million euros (C$3.3 million).
But City’s improved financial status appears to have given it the advantage over Chelsea, which has recently enjoyed a huge edge over rivals because of the backing of billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.
Robinho was left out of Madrid’s squad for its opening Spanish league defeat at Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday, with Schuster saying he wanted to make the forward feel at home again once the transfer window had closed.