Robinho set for return to Brazil in loan deal

Robinho is close to finalising a loan move back to his native Brazil in a six-month loan deal at his former club Santos.

The Brazilian club will take on the wages and bonuses of the player, but the former Real Madrid striker will be forced to take a slight reduction in pay.

Robinho is believed to be keen to secure more playing time in the run up to this summer’s World Cup, with the loan set to come to an end on August 4.

Manchester City forked out £32.5 million to prise the 26-year-old from Madrid in the summer of 2008. He enjoyed a promising start at the Eastlands and scored 15 goals in his debut season in the Premier League.

This season however, his form has stuttered. The Brazilian only managed to get on the score sheet for the first time this term against Scunthorpe in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

“Robinho is someone who needs to be playing regularly and we wish him well for the period of his loan,” said Roberto Mancini, City’s manager.

There had been much speculation over the destination of Robinho with Barcelona cited as a possible destination. Yet he will make an emotional return to the club where he won two Brazilian championships.

“At the beginning I thought this [loan idea] didn’t go beyond a distant dream but when I spoke to the player I realized that his will would be fundamental,” said Santos president Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro.

“The possibility of an extension to the contract continues to be a dream but we believe that dreams can come true.”