At some point, i actually believed that he was destined to become Brazil’s next biggest star after Pele. However, it seems like things are not working out for Robinho.

Since moving to Europe in 2005, Robinho has had both good and bad times. I remember his debut for Real Madrid like it was yesterday. His witty ‘sombreros’ and his magical match up with Ronaldo heralded a new dawn for the ‘merengues’.

Pele personally picked Robinho as his heir apparent while he was  just 15 this a rare feat indeed. However, things were not to work out for Robinho in Madrid. In early 2006, the then club president Ramon Calderon, insisted that both Robinho and Beckham had become too flashy for the club. This only added to their woes as coach Fabio Capello benched them for most of the season.

This was the start of a downhill in Robinho’s relationship with Calderon. With his contract running out, Calderon twice pledged to renew it only for him to backtrack on his promises. What really annoyed Robinho was finding out that Calderon had been using him as a bargaining chip to acquire Cristiano Ronaldo.

Robinho demanded a move away from the club and a deal with Chelsea was arrived at only for him to later change his mind and join Mancheser City. His move to Eastlands made him the most expensive player in English football history. A buying price of 34 million pounds and a weekly wage of 160,000 pounds plus the lure of Brazil team-mates Jo and Elano was irresistable.

This season, Robinho has started only three matches for City and rumor mills are ripe with a move back to Spain, Barcelona in particular. He believes a move to the Nou Camp could make him the best player in the world; although i do not fully agree with that.

What Robinho has going for him is his age. At only 25, he still has a lot more to offer the football world. There is no doubt that his move to Manchester City was a wrong one, however he can still make amends if he joins one of the so called ‘giants’ of football.

The winter transfer window is fast approaching and Mark Hughes would not like to lose such a player. Its now upto Robinho to decide his future. I only hope he makes a wiser decision this time.