Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has said Brazil star Robinho has apologized for leaving the Premier League club’s warm weather training camp in Tenerife without permission.
He also dismissed reports Robinho would be involved in a transfer window swap deal with Chelsea’s Didier Drogba.
Robinho flew home to Santos on a private jet and has since claimed he had to deal with a pressing family matter.
That has cut little ice with City officials who say the forward will be disciplined on his return to the club — Robinho rejoining the training camp has been ruled out because of the time-difference and travel constraints.
Hughes was adamant the 24-year-old’s walkout was in no way linked to the collapse of the deal to sign Robinho’s fellow Brazil star Kaka and a feeling the club’s grand ambitions are unlikely to be realized.
Robinho, City’s leading scorer this term after arriving at Eastlands in a British transfer record £32 million (US$44 million) deal in September from Real Madrid, is set to rejoin the squad upon their return to Manchester at the weekend.
He will be in contention to play for lowly City against Newcastle United on Wednesday, although by then he could have been fined a couple of weeks’ wages, worth around £200,000.
“He has apologized that he left without permission,” Hughes said. “He needs to be able to put his side of the story. I will put mine — and we will move on.”
City’s aborted bid for Kaka was preceded by failed attempts to sign Gianluigi Buffon, Thierry Henry and the Valencia pair David Villa and David Silva, it emerged on Thursday.
None of the moves got as far as the attempt to sign Kaka, with the players’ current clubs all quoting exorbitant prices in an attempt to make the most of City owner Sheikh Mansour’s personal fortune.
“We’re not anybody’s fool,” City’s executive chairman Garry Cook told reporters.
But any suggestion City do not overpay for players looks debatable.
This month they’ve spent a total of £40 million on Wayne Bridge, formerly Chelsea’s reserve left-back, Craig Bellamy, who has managed only five goals this season, and Nigel de Jong, who was their third choice for a new holding player behind Barcelona’s Yaya Toure and Lassana Diarra, who opted to join Real Madrid.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
RSS