"Manchester City Simply Outbid Chelsea for Robinho" - admits his Agent, Wagner Ribeiro

Manchester City simply outbid Chelsea for Robinho, admits his agent, Wagner Ribeiro. The agent of Manchester City's new £32.5m signing Robinho yesterday revealed for the first time the extraordinary circumstances that led to the forward choosing City over Chelsea.

Robinho's move to City was made possible after the club accepted a takeover bid by Abu Dhabi United Group on transfer deadline day.

Ribeiro revealed that the deal hung in the balance until just 75 minutes before the window closed at midnight.

"I was just about to catch a flight to London [on the final day of the transfer window] when I got a call to tell me to come to the Bernabéu," Wagner Ribeiro said. "I told Robinho then that he was a Chelsea player. We even celebrated the fact. When I got to the stadium the press asked me about City and I said no. It was 10.45 at night when [Real's director general José Angel Sánchez] asked me: 'Would Robinho play for Man City?' I told him Robinho would play anywhere but Madrid.

"Chelsea kept on pushing until the very end," the agent added. "[The Chelsea chief executive] Peter Kenyon rang me desperately to ask what was going on. But I was certain that Madrid and Chelsea wouldn't agree €40m [£32.5m] so I said yes to City. Their interest was a wonderful surprise."

"It was said that Robinho was a Chelsea player, we were celebrating that," Ribeiro continued. "When we arrived the press asked about Manchester City, I told them no.

"At quarter to 11 at night they asked me, 'Will Robinho play at Manchester City?'.

"I responded that he would play anywhere but Real Madrid."

Ribeiro also claimed: "Meanwhile, [Chelsea chief executive] Peter Kenyon was calling me desperately trying to know what was happening. But I was already certain that Chelsea and Real Madrid would never reach an agreement of more than 40million euros.

"And it was then that I gave the okay to City."