Robinho almost joined Arsenal last season - Agent
March 2008

Robinho almost joined Arsenal...

Robinho has been having a good season with Los Merengues thus far and his goals have kept them at the top of La Liga, often rescuing the team from poor displays, as was the case against Recreativo Huelva.

Talks of a new contract have been doing the rounds over the last few weeks, but it appears that Robinho's stint at the Bernabeu almost came to an end last summer.

"It will be necessary to see what the club want," Ribeiro told EFE Radio. "Robinho likes Madrid and he has adapted well here and he has always been professional.

"Last Summer I spoke to Pedrag Mijatovic and I told him that Robinho was not happy because Capello always kept him on the bench and he was not playing him.

"I told him that Robinho had an offer from Arsenal and that if he continued on the bench then he would move to London, but Mijatovic told me that my client would be the best in the world and thar he would not be leaving."

Wagner also spoke about the player's chances of winning the World Player of the Year Award, and he blames Madrid's Champions League failure for diminishing those.

"If Real Madrid reached the final in Moscow then he would have won it (World Player of the Year) but now it's more difficult for him," he opined.

Los Merengues will be hoping that they can bounce back form their recent woes in La Liga when they clash with Espanyol at the Bernabeu on Saturday night.