Manchester City beat Chelsea to Robinho after Arab takeover
Published 00:00 02/09/08 By By David McDonnell
Manchester City last night completed the stunning £33m capture of Real Madrid striker Robinho - hijacking Chelsea's bid to sign the Brazilian.
On the day City were involved in a £200million takeover by a Middle East consortium, they shattered the British transfer record with their audacious capture of Robinho .
Armed with new-found wealth from their Arab owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUB), City tried to sabotage Manchester United's bid for Dimitar Berbatov with a shock £30m offer of their own for the Tottenham striker.
Berbatov's desire to join United ensured City had no chance of signing him, despite Spurs's acceptance of their bid.
But City pressed ahead with their move to sign Robinho and had their offer accepted last night.
His arrival - on a £90,000 a week four-year deal - means the club can now boast an all-Brazilian strikeforce worth £52m, following the £19m capture of Jo from CSKA Moscow.
Real were furious with Robinho for publicly declaring his desire to join Chelsea. Madrid president Ramon Calderon said last night: "We have sold Robinho for reasons of human nature. The fact is we have accepted an offer from Manchester City and that he is not going for sporting reasons."
At £33m, Robinho is the most expensive player in British football history, breaking the £30m Chelsea paid AC Milan for Andriy Shevchenko.
City boss Mark Hughes said: "I am absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to work with such an incredible talent.
"I have said that in order to compete with the best teams we have to be in the market for players of this calibre, and Robinho is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world.
"I am really looking forward to introducing him to the rest of the squad and to the City fans. This is a real statement of intent."
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