Robinho was bought from Santos by Real Madrid at €24 million back in 2005. Since then, the player has established himself a little. Chelsea made the same €24 million offer for his services to Real as a starting bid, almost overlooking the player’s growth in recent years.
Take into account that Real Madrid were tempting United with a €100 million bid for Cristiano Ronaldo. At this time, Robinho, as he had explained in numerous press conferences, was asking for new terms on his contract, but was brushed aside because of the overwhelming interest in the Portuguese midfielder.
Chelsea continued their pursuit of the Brazilian winger, while United was successful in fending off the Spanish side over Ronaldo. Chelsea brought up their bid to €33 million, hoping that this was enough to satisfy Real Madrid’s asking price, which might’ve been a good price for the player. However, with a couple of weeks left until the close of the transfer window, Real rejects Chelsea’s current offer and raises the asking price to about €38 million, a price Chelsea thought was not balanced with the player’s talent value.
At €42 million, Real might seem angry that the Brazilian winger chose to leave the Bernabéu. But in reality, the funds raised over the deal will delight Ramón Calderón, who saw his player’s value nearly doubled, thanks to Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim’s record-breaking impulse buy. This also makes it more flexible for Real Madrid to get their most wanted man, Ronaldo, who’s asking price is set at €100 million.
But is Robinho worth the €42 million? Real Madrid’s key man, Wesley Sneijder is worth at around €27 million. Is Robinho that much better than the flying Dutchman? Shaun Wright-Phillips was a bargain for talent at €10 million, so does Robinho’s talent really quadruple that of SWP’s?
Filed under: EPL Futbol, Manchester City, Transfers | Tags: Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim, Manchester City, Transfers
After shocking the football world with a late bid to capture Robinho at €40 million, the new owner of Manchester City, Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim, has succeeded in half a day’s time to make himself the most arrogant and over-the-top owner in the EPL.
He has already claimed to be the “new Abramovich” and reports today has the owner taking swipes at both United and Real Madrid over their world-class status. The new owner warned that he is willing to smash the EPL transfer fee record once more by bidding big (bigger than Real Madrid) for Cristiano Ronaldo because he wants to make a statement.
But if you read between the lines, the transfer fee for Robinho is astonishingly high at €40 million. It shows that Al-Fahim is willing to pay any amount, even if it exceeds that of the player’s value to show that he is capable of buying anyone he wants, at any price, as ignorant or as brilliant the decision might seem.
The list of players included Dimitar Berbatov, David Villa & Mario Gomez. But In the end, he was only able to get Robinho at an expensive price. A price that Chelsea was simply not willing to pay or match, based on the fact that they figured Robinho was not worth that much.
Now, Al-Fahim is shaking things up with his ambitions. The Arab billionnaire, with his Manchester City sky-blue imperial jewel ring looks up at the camera with a fanatical grin and harks about wanting to buy Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas & Cristiano Ronaldo. Is the new man at the Eastlands a dreamer? Or will his carelessness make Roman Abramovich look like a wise man?
Filed under: Transfers | Tags: Berbatov, Everton, Manchester City, Manchester United, Robinho, Transfers
The Transfer Market Closed at midnight with two of the biggest stars of the market being signed just minutes before the deadline. Robinho joins the Blues of Manchester City with a record-breaking £32.5 million (€40 million). Manchester City stole the Brazilian star from Chelsea immediately after the takeover of its new owners. This should make for an interesting showdown on September 13th with Shaun Wright-Phillips & Robinho both set to take on Chelsea.
Meanwhile, the Berbatov saga is finally over. The Bulgarian striker is officially a United player with a deal worth £30.75 million. United also agreed to send over their young striker, Frazier Campbell to the Spurs.
David Moyes broke the club-record transfer fee with the signing of Marouane Fellaini of Belgian side, Standard Liège. The £15 million signing should aid Everton’s poor form and slow start to the 08/09 season.
