Manchester City sign Robinho

British football history was made yesterday as Manchester City purchased Real Madrid striker Robinho for £32.5million.

The transfer was concluded just minutes before the transfer window closed, as Manchester City secured the services of one of the finest strikers in the game for the highest transfer fee in the history of English football.

Manchester City, backed by the massive financial resources of their new Middle-Eastern owners the Abu Dhabi United Group, outbid Chelsea for Robinho’s services, depriving the London based club of their key transfer target for the season.

Robinho had previously made his intention to depart Real Madrid for Chelsea clear, but was apparently won over to the Manchester City cause by the promise of a whopping £94,000 a week salary.

Chelsea have since issued a statement to the effect that Robinho’s talents don’t justify his price tag.

“Other big clubs wanted Robinho and this is a huge statement of intent,” Manchester City manager Mark Hughes said of Robinho’s purchase. “People understand now that we have the financial power to compete for any player in the world. We will try to emphasise to people that we are a club going places and maybe they’d like to be a part of it.”