Manchester City

Robinho Not Worth €40m - Kenyon

Chelsea’s chief executive Peter Kenyon has reportedly revealed that they were never going to land Robinho because the club does not believe he is worth the amount of money the Spanish giants were asking for.

Sep 4, 2008 8:18:15 AM

Robinho, Mark Hughes, Manchester City (PA)

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Robinho, Mark Hughes, Manchester City (PA)

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Chelsea’s intense negotiations with Real Madrid for Robinho in the last few weeks of the transfer market failed to bear any fruit when Manchester City made a last minute swoop and captured the Brazilian for an upfront fee of €40 million.

Now, according to Spanish sports journal Marca, it has been revealed that Robinho was never going to head to Stamford Bridge, based on those merry-go-round talks between the two clubs.

When analysing the events that transpired on the final day of the transfer market, Peter Kenyon, the man Chelsea entrusted to orchestrate the move, reportedly admitted that “Robinho is not worth €40 million” and that “we were never going to arrive at that number”.

Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón had at one stage insisted Robinho is free to leave the Santiago Bernabéu, provided any potential buyers can meet his asking price of €40 million.

Chelsea only allegedly went as high as €37 million, an offer which was blatantly shot down by the Madrid hierarchy. Manchester City, backed by their new Abu Dhabi-based investors/owners, eventually swooped in out of nowhere for the 24 year old by offering €40 million upfront plus another €2 million based on the player’s performances.

KS Leong