Friday 22 August 2008

Burning Bridges

He's been unsettled all summer. Who would have guessed that Real Madrid's chasing of Cristiano Ronaldo would have the effect, not of bringing the Portuguese winger to Madrid, but of driving away one of last season's fans' (and the readers of this blog's) favourites?

It's been on the cards since Wagner Ribeiro, Robinho's agent, said last month that the player felt "undervalued" and that there was interest from Chelsea. However, Robinho himself has kept quiet on the issue, at least in public. Until today.

In an interview with Spanish news agency EFE, Robinho has finally said publicly that he wants to leave Real Madrid for Chelsea. In a move calculated to put pressure on the Real Madrid president and board, he will soon have the fans asking for him to leave with statements like:

It's not for money. My personal objective is to be the best player in the World and that is not going to happen at Real Madrid. That's why I've set myself the target of playing in the English Premiership next season.

I think my time at Real Madrid is at an end. I hope that the management reaches agreement with Chelsea to resolve my situation as soon as possible.

I've never missed a training session at Real Madrid. I've trained every day and I will continue to do so. Whether I play or not
[against Valencia in the Spanish Supercup this Sunday] I don't know, mainly because if I don't have a good game people can say it's because my mind is elsewhere. To avoid those kinds of comments, it's better for Schuster to pick other players.

My message to the fans is thank you for your affection and the way you've treated me
.

So now the ball is firmly in Calderón's court. He can keep Robinho at Real against his wishes, but, after such a public statement, neither the fans nor his team mates will be very happy with him in the squad. All of which plays to some extent into Chelsea's hands. Wagner Ribeiro said earlier this week that Real Madrid would be willing to sell Robinho to the London club for €40 million. I wonder if his price has now dropped somewhat.

This blog will be on hiatus for the next two weeks and will return the week before Real Madrid's second league fixture against Numancia.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

50 million € for the pesetero or he can warm his seat in d stands.y waste a sub place on him ??d bridge is burnt.i don´t want him at d bernabeu.best player in d world??i hope he is a bigger flop dan sheva. 50 million nd chelski got a deal.its only fair for d way dey fleeced us 4 robben.tit for tat.venga,roman.dig into dose moneybags.

Unknown said...

realrock, don't believe the hype, Calderon and Mijatovic had two chances to renew Robinho's contract last season and each time they went back on their word. Now that C.Ronaldo isn't coming they want to make nice, f*ck that, it's a matter of respect, not money(although finally being paid what he's worth is important too). As a madridista I'm upset he's leaving, as a man I know he has no other choice.