From Chelsea quote to going AWOL to rape controversy - Robinho's ups and downs at Manchester City

September 2008
A fine debut

Robinho had looked like he might join Chelsea at one stage, with a deal reportely close to being concluded. City boss Mark Hughes was delighted to have the star in his line-up for the clash with the Blues.

Hughes was certainly keen to unleash the player, saying: "I am absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to work with such an incredible talent like Robinho.

"This is a real statement of intent as to the ambitions of this club."

City lost 3-1 as it turned out, but Robinho found the net with a fine free kick early on and, for a while at least, it looked as though the Citizens might just manage to sway to a samba beat.

September 2008 - Christmas 2008
New boy's fine form continues...

Robinho's goalscoring form continued in the first few months of his debut season. He starred in a 6-0 demolition of Portmsouth before hitting a hat-trick against Stoke City.

He had hit nine goals by Christmas and ended the year with a late equaliser at Blackburn Rovers in stoppage time. It seemed as though the temperamental superstar had settled well into his new life as a Citizen.

Trouble, though, was just around the corner.

January 2009
The birthday walkout

'Family reasons' were cited as the reason Robinho left a City training camp in Tenerife and returned to Brazil. Rumours insisted that birthday celebrations were the real reason for the trip home without permission.

The exit came the day after the saga surrounding City's attempt to sign Robinho's international team-mate Kaka from AC Milan came to an end. Robinho insisted that this had nothing whatsoever to do with his walkout, claiming: "I feel it is important to underline that I did not return to Brazil because of the Kaka deal.

"He is one of my good friends and it would have been great to see him at Manchester City - but it had nothing to do with his decision to stay in Milan.

"I am committed to helping Manchester City become the force the owners assured me they will become."

More talk claimed that Robinho was on his way out of City, with Chelsea mooted as a possible destination.

Mark Hughes found his powers of self-control tested to the utmost, whilst informing the media that the player had been fined but needed a chance to put his side of the story.

With the situation never seemingly full resolved, the cracks had started to appear.

Accused of rape

Those cracks became more like major problems when Robinho found himself looking at a full-blown police investigation into a serious crime.

The player was arrested at the end of the month and invesitgated in relation to accusations made by an 18-year-old woman that she had been attacked in the VIP area of a Leeds nightclub.

Detectives were unable to question the star until the end of the month because of his unauthorised trip to Brazil, but he was at pains to stress his innocence.

He was later cleared of all charges but by then the rot had seemed to set in.

February 2009
Bellamy blows his top

There were more stories of dressing room unrest to follow. New signing Craig Bellamy reportedly took strong exception to what he felt was the Brazilian's less than committed attitude to life at City.

An insipid display at Portsmouth meant that the fiery Welshman reportedly gave his Brazilian team-mate a verbal barrage that led to rumours of a major dressing room rift.

Robinho also seemed to be enjoying a close relationship with another controversial Brazilian in the shape of Elano, a man with whom Hughes would also have issues.

A major rift seemed to be developing in the City dressing room, with the Brazilians on one side and Hughes and Bellamy on the other. An uneasy truce seemed to come into force with Bellamy maintaining that he "adored" Robinho, "as a player" anyway. One senses that his appreciation of the Brazilian's personal qualities was not as warm.

March 2009
Pele points the finger

Robinho soon found himself under fire in his homeland when cooments attributed to the great Pele accused him, along with fellow Brazilian forward Ronaldo, of being a drug user.

The comments were understood to have been made at a party with Pele unaware that they would be later broadcast, but Robinho still insisted that they be retracted.

"A formal retraction from Pele will be requested, if what he said was not misinterpreted by the media that published it," a statement from the player read.

"And if Pele does not come forward, he will have to deal with his very unfortunate comment in court.

"Robinho is upset and disappointed at Pele, who seems to have forgotten the great idol he was and that it appears Pele must be reading sensationalist medias, to come up with such a wrongful statement."

Pele did later insist that he had been misquoted, his representative stating: "The comments were truncated in Europe and the news came from there. Pele was talking about scandals in football, which are few compared to the number of games that happen, and he cited the problems of Maradona (with drugs) and those of Ronaldo and Robinho."

April - May 2009
A decent end to debut season

Despite the off-field strains, Robinho did manage to end the season as City's top scorer with 14 goals, making him the fourth top scorer in the Premier League.

He netted in three consecutive games in April, with the last of those helping City to a 3-1 win over Blackburn Rovers, with his end to the season echoing his fine beginning.

More changes were afoot at Eastlands though.

Mark Hughes sold Robinho's pal Elano to Galatasaray in the summer of 2009, and many hoped that this would ease the rumoured rifts in the Eastlands dressing room.

The uncertainty grew as the new season began though, with rumours linking Hughes with the sack from City and Robinho with moves way from the club.

There was no super beginning like that of 12 months previous. Bellamy occupied Robinho's slot on the left wing, whilst an ankle injury curtailed the Brazilian's opportunities to impress.

Reports of off-field unhappiness gathered momentum and the long-running saga surrounding the player's future began in earnest, with a host of top clubs rumoured to be interested in taking him off City's hands on a temporary basis.

The removal of Hughes from his position as manager early on in the campaign did little to impove the player's situation at the club.

Wages seemed to be the main issue for clubs though, and it was only through acquring a significant sponsorship deal that Santos were able to offer the increasingly lost looking star a way back onto the pitch.

January 2010
Loaned back to where it began

Santos signed Robinho on loan for six months on January 28, marking for many the effective end of the forward's time at the club.

He certainly seemed happy to escape from England, claiming that he needed regular first team football to allow him to get into shape for Brazil's World Cup campaign.

He scored some attactive goals, with a backheeled effort against Sao Paulo catching the eye, and helped his old club to a Copa Brasil triumph.

He looked a player in limbo though. Stuck at a club where he was no longer wanted, but with  no one who did want him able to pay his wages.