PLAYER PROFILE

Robson de Souza Robinho

Position: Forward

Height: 5'8

Weight: 9st 6lbs

Date of Birth: 1984-01-25 Sao Vicente, Brazil

Robson de Souza Robinho

Brazilian forward Robinho began his career with local club Santos and quickly earned himself a reputation as one of his country's most talented youngsters. He was soon linked with Europe's top clubs, particularly after his mother was kidnapped and only released after a ransom was paid.

In 2005 he finally left Santos to join Real Madrid and was an immediate hit at his new club, at least until Fabio Capello took over in the summer of 2006, after which he found first team football less easy to come by.

He continued to play an important role for Madrid though, and helped them to two titles in 2006/07 and 2007/08, but in the summer of 2008 he was strongly linked with a move away, mostly as a makeweight in a deal to take Cristiano Ronaldo to the Bernabeu.

This unsettled Robinho, and he made it clear that he felt his future lay away from Madrid. Chelsea spent most of the summer chasing him, but on the final day of the transfer window, newly-rich Manchester City snapped him up, smashing the British transfer record in the process.

He scored on his debut against - coincidentally - Chelsea, though it wasn't enough to save City from a 3-1 defeat. In October 2008 he scored a hat-trick in a win against Stoke City, continuing a hugely impressive start to life in the Premier League, but the goals and the form dried up after Christmas.

Robinho was accused of going missing in away games and clashes with big clubs, while he was fined by the club for walking out of a training camp in January 2009. He began to rediscover his goalscoring form towards the end of his first season with City.