City dismiss Robinho reports

Blues confident Brazilian star will complete Santos loan spell

By Ben Collins   Last updated: 19th March 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

City dismiss Robinho reports

Robinho: Set to stay with Santos

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Manchester City insist they have no fears that Robinho will have to return early from his loan spell with Santos.

The Brazilian star returned to his first club in January in a bid to secure a World Cup spot after falling down the pecking order at City.

An agreement was struck for the £32.5million signing to rejoin Santos on a six-month deal, with the Brazilian club covering Robinho's £160,000-a-week wages.

But with an average home crowd of just 10,000, additional sponsorship was the only way Santos could finance the move and reports in Brazil claim the club are yet to finalise the sponsorship deals.

No concerns

City agreed to keep the former Real Madrid forward on the wage bill, with Santos making payments to the Blues each month to cover Robinho's salary.

And despite the recent reports, City claim Santos have kept up their side of the bargain.

"There are no money concerns at our end," said a City spokesman.

"Everything is up to date and there have been no missed payments."

So far the move has paid off for Robinho, scoring five goals in eight games to retain his place in Brazil's squad for the recent friendly against the Republic of Ireland at the Emirates.

The 26-year-old was back to his best as he scored one and made the other in a 2-0 win for Brazil, who are second favourites for this summer's World Cup behind European champions Spain.

The provisional World Cup squads will be announced in May, with the tournament in South Africa beginning on 11th June, and Robinho is not due to return to City until 4th August.