Manchester City’s record signing Robinho could well be on his way out of the club according to the Daily Mail. The Brazilian has been woefully short of form this season and things came to a head on Saturday after he was taken off after 51 minutes in the match against Everton after he had been brought on in place of the injured Roque Santa Cruz.
Mancini’s decision to replace Robinho with Shaun Wright-Phillips was fully justified as he had offered nothing on the pitch, but he has certainly raised question marks over the player’s future at the club. After the match Mancini said:
‘I thought Robinho could have been a big player for us here, but sometimes a player is on form and sometimes he is off.
‘I wanted to change the situation in the second half and if that means taking him off, then I will. I cannot worry about him, only about the result.’
Whereas previous manager Mark Hughes may have felt an obligation to play the Brazilian, Mancini clearly feels no such pressure. Robinho was strongly linked with Barcelona earlier this season, but the Catalan club ended their interest in the player and have switched their attention to other targets as they look for a long-term replacement for Thierry Henry. While Robinho is still a popular player on the continent, City may struggle to find a buyer for him given the price-tag and the massive wage demands.
Robinho has claimed to want to stay at City for the next 5 years, but this most recent embarrassing episode will surely test his resolve to stay as well as Manchester City’s desire to keep him. Their success under Mancini in recent weeks has been based on hard work and Robinho just doesn’t seem to fit the Italian’s blueprint.
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