image via daylife
from daily mail:
Robinho insists a deal for him to return to his first club Santos is ’90 per cent done’. Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini said he expected to hold on to the British record signing following his side’s 4-2 FA Cup win at Scunthorpe on Sunday. But the 26-year-old has reiterated his desire to return home for the rest of the season and says there are just small details to overcome before a six-month loan deal can be announced this week.
‘Everything is on track,’ said Robinho. ‘Santos are looking at the duration of my loan. They want a year, but City only want six months. It is 90 per cent sure. In two or three days we should close the deal.’
Luis Alvaro faces the daunting task of funding a deal for Robinho, who has apparently agreed to take a cut in his £160,000 a week salary. The £32.5million signing from Real Madrid and his father Gilvan de Souza met Santos officials Armenio Neto and Eduardo Musa on Sunday night and talks are expected with City on Monday.
The Sao Paulo-based club are confident they can beat Benfica or anyone else to a deal because of Robinho’s desire to return home and will look to pay for the loan by attracting sponsors who can use the player’s image in the run-up to the World Cup.
Less than a week ago, Luis Alvaro dismissed the signing as an impossible dream, but he believes he can overcome all obstacles. The president first spoke to Robinho last week and on Sunday revealed:
‘He said that he wants to help. I could feel Robinho’s enthusiasm for the team. ‘We have made contact with City and are looking for sponsors who want to achieve this dream with us.
‘We have to negotiate because he has to come to us free of charge. He would have to give up his king’s salary because this is a different world here.
‘We will have a decisive meeting with Manchester City on Tuesday. It would be fantastic to see him play football where he grew up. He is identified with this club.
‘It will be difficult (to complete the deal), but we are not afraid of difficult challenges. We will fight for him to come. We now have this mentality within the club and we will give every possible effort for this to happen.
‘We will talk. I hope to bring Robinho not just for six months. The longer the better.’
