Robinho has diffused a club versus country row by insisting he will not play for Brazil in tomorrow’s friendly against England after failing to recover from an ankle injury.
Brazil defied Manchester City’s wishes yesterday by insisting that Robinho remained on international duty after the Premier League club had asked the forward not to travel to Qatar to join the national squad. Relations with their £34.2 million record signing have also been strained by Robinho’s apparent agitation for a move to Barcelona and he has not played for his club since August.
City insist that Robinho remains a couple of weeks from full fitness, but the Brazil federation demanded that he turn up for international duty. “I’m not fit yet but maybe I will be for the next game,” Robinho said.
Gilberto Silva, Robinho’s Brazil team-mate, is convinced he will stay in England. “I think he is going to stay,” he said. “There are a lot of rumours but that is often the case with big-name players. The player has tried to avoid controversy and maybe something he has said has not been very well interpreted.
“For the last few weeks he has been treating his injury and has been concerned because he wants to play for Manchester City and Brazil. My big advice to any player arriving in England is to learn the language, one of the most important things, and then learn the game.
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“He has learned the game and his language is improving. I have helped him a bit with that and so has Kaka, who also speaks English.”