Did Robinho actually make the right move?

All summer he has been trying to force his way out of the Bernabeu - but he imagined that Chelsea would be there to catch him, and a compatriot coach in Luiz Felipe Scolari would be there to boost his confidence and bring out the best in him.

Instead of which, it is Mark Hughes and Manchester City who captured him, but it is not surprising.

Robinho is supposedly taking with him to the North West of England the guarantee that he will produce the odd breathtaking moment of individual skill to warm frozen Manchester city fan's hearts over the next few months.

But come to think of it, It is an interesting assessment. Last year Robinho was named as the outstanding player in the Copa America.

But Real Madrid clearly don't rate him anything like as highly as Cristiano Ronaldo - Robinho's desire to leave the Bernabeu dates from the moment this became clear. From a Man City point of view, one worrying aspect of the deal is the difficulties Robinho has had in adapting to Spanish football.

In Brazil, fouls are given for the slightest physical contact. In Europe, the criteria is different. Many times with Real, Robinho went to ground looking for a free kick, and was then seen swearing in Portuguese when he didn't get the decision.
In the Premier League he can expect more physical contact and less space to work in. But this is the space that he has now chosen for himself. It will be fascinating to see how he copes with his new challenge.

ADVANTAGES OF HIS MOVE

1. Robinho will shine here, as he is at a 2nd tier club where he is garunteed football. He knows he just needs to do what he does best. With Real, its was the pressure of being the best club with the best players, and winning a lot of trophies. With City its breaking into the top 4 and maybe snatch a Carling Cup.
2. Those who say he's gone to city for the cash are being over-simplisitc. It could be argued a talent like his needs to be the fulcrum of a team (like Riquelme at Boca) rather than a glittering cog in chelsea's wheel.
3. Manchester City has got new owners, rich owners so they can splash the cash on whoever they want just like what happened to Chelsea a few years ago, so its a good signing for them.
4. He is a quality player but I'm not convinced the fast pace of football or the god-awful weather will see Robinho warm to City. But then with Jo and Elano there it might turn out okay. Everything will depend on how he acclimatises.


THE DISADVANTAGE

With big money coming in,it might gravely affect the youth team that Man City have done so well with in recent years to develop.

At real madrid robinho got 35,000 a week, chelsea offered 70,000 a week but city offered 100,000 a week. Accusations keep coming that he called a personal news conference saying his heart is at chelsea they are my ONLY team, then join man city.

What should be take into cognizance is why the sudden change? Real accepted the bid(32.5 million pound), he had every right to refuse a move (like Tiago in Juventus) but instead he agreed the move to manchester and not london.

Lastly Mancity now have strenght in depth in attack with Benjani (?9m) one of the premier leagues most prolific striker last season sitting in the treatment room alongside Vassell and Bojinov (a 21 year old talent that Sven purchased from Italy). Add to that Cacideo ?5.5m striker(not really proven) and two of the UKs best young prospects in Daniel Sturridge (pursued by Chelsea for three years) and Ched Evans (the Welsh Sensation) breaking into the first team. People who take risks in life are the most likely to succeed - Robinho has taken a small risk and if it doesn't work out then at least he will have his ?6m a year salary to keep him happy if he does not eventually move to chelsea for a smaller amount of money!!!