FILE: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - REAL MADRID AND SANTOS REACH DEAL OVER BRAZILIAN RISING STAR ROBINHO

Record ID: 551570

  • Title: FILE: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - REAL MADRID AND SANTOS REACH DEAL OVER BRAZILIAN RISING STAR ROBINHO
  • Date: 21st July 2005
  • Summary: TERESOPOLIS, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (JULY 21, 2005) (REUTERS) ROBINHO AT BRAZIL TRAINING SESSION
  • Embargoed: 5th August 2005 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: SAO PAULO AND TERESOPOLIS, BRAZIL / HANNOVER AND FRANKFURT, GERMANY / HONG KONG, CHINA
  • City:
  • Country: China Brazil Germany
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA9G5O8EA2W6I78JUQELQGDW9YL
  • Story Text: Real Madrid and Santos have reached an agreement on Saturday (July 30) to end the long-running transfer saga over Robinho with the Brazilian striker poised to sign a five-year deal with the Spanish club.
    In a statement on their website, Real said the 21-year-old international would join the club on August 25 after playing a farewell match with Santos.
    "We are delighted," Real Madrid vice-president Emilio Butragueno said on his arrival at Barajas airport after the team's tour of the United States and Asia.
    "He is a very important signing for us. We need great players and he's one of them."
    Robinho is the second Brazilian international forward to join Real in two days, following hot on the heels of the 20 million-euro signing of Julio Baptista from Sevilla.
    "They are two great young players and they will form a very good base for the team," added Butragueno.
    "We have reached an agreement with Santos over Robinho but he won't join up with us until August 25 because the club has requested that he play another game or two as a way of saying goodbye to their fans.
    "The situation with Santos had reached an uncomfortable position for everyone, but fortunately we found a solution that suited everyone."
    Santos confirmed the deal and said they would receive $30 million, which equals the club's 60 percent share in Robinho.
    They explained that the remaining 40 percent, or $20 million, share belonging to the player and his agents was subject to a separate deal between Robinho and Real Madrid.
    Santos said they had rejected a previous offer from Real, which would have only given them a 60 percent share of the $30 million, but the latest offer meant the Spanish club were now free to buy Robinho out of his contract.
    Real have been chasing the Brazilian international since last year but had met with stiff resistance from Santos, who wanted to hold on to a youngster who had played an instrumental role in their recent success.
    Santos president Marcelo Teixeira accused the Spanish giants of approaching the player without his club's permission and appeared to be determined to resist Real's pressure.
    The Brazilian Football Confederation added weight to his argument that Real had to pay the full $50 million penalty clause stipulated in Robinho's contract when refusing to hand over the player's International Transfer Certificate to their Spanish counterparts earlier in the week.
    However, Teixeira appears to have finally relented with his decision paving the way for Robinho to realise a lifelong dream of playing in Europe.
    Robinho's arrival will cast doubts on the future of England striker Michael Owen, whose place in the Real starting line-up is in serious jeopardy.
    Real also have Ronaldo and Raul on their books, meaning there will be five forwards battling for places up front.
    Robinho, who was won 12 caps for his country and scored four goals, is one of the world's most exciting players and was an ever-present in the Brazil team that won the Confederations Cup in Germany last month.
    The Santos striker, who burst on to the scene as an 18-year-old when he helped Santos win their first Brazilian championship in 2002, has been the subject of speculation over a Real move for the best part of a year.
    His trickery, ball skills and physique have often led to comparisons with Pele, who spent most of his career at Santos, although the youngster has yet to be fully tested against the world's top defenders.
    Last November he was in the news after being sidelined by coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo when his mother Marina de Souza was kidnapped for 40 days after being abducted by two armed men at a barbecue at a friend's house in Santos.
    Two days after her release, Robinho returned to the side and Santos beat Vasco da Gama 2-1 in their last game to clinch their second Brazilian championship in three years.
    However, the kidnap incident is said to have helped convince Robinho he should leave Brazil to play abroad.
    He has been at loggerheads with Santos since his return from helping Brazil win the Confederations Cup in Germany.
    When he arrived back in Brazil and said he wanted to join Real Madrid, he explained how hard it was to leave his roots.
    "It's difcicult for me to say that I don't want to play any more with Santos -- it was the club that developed me, to play in the club that allowed me to be on the Brazilian team," Robinho told reporters on July 4.
    He defied orders to go back to the club and had a medical check-up under the supervision of Real Madrid doctors during his training boycott.
    The transfer saga finally ended the announcement that Real have reached a deal with Santos to buy the player.
    Factbox on Brazilian forward Robinho, full name Robson de Souza, who will join Real Madrid on a five-year deal on August 25.
    1984 - Born January 25 in Sao Vicente near Santos.
    1996 - Discovered by Santos and wins a place in the club's junior divisions.
    1999 - Pele sees Robinho taking part in a youth team training session and is reported as saying: "This lad takes me back to the start of my career."
    2000 - Makes his professional debut for Santos at the age of 16 in a 3-1 win over arch-rivals Corinthians.
    2002 - December: Santos beat Corinthians over the two-legged final to win the Brazilian championship. The most replayed moment of the tie is when Robinho performs seven successive stepovers as he provokes an opponent into giving away a penalty.
    2003 - June: Santos reach the South American Libertadores Cup final for the first time in 40 years but lose to Argentina's Boca Juniors in the two-leg final.
    2004 - January: Plays in the Brazil under-23 team which amazingly fails to qualify for the Athens Olympics after being edged out by unfancied Paraguay in the South American qualifying tournament.
    September: Comes on as a substitute to make his first appearance for Brazil's senior team.
    November: Robinho's mother Marina de Souza is kidnapped from a barbecue at a friend's house in Santos by two armed men. Robinho is sidelined by coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo.
    December: Robinho's mother is released. Two days later, Robinho returns to the side and Santos beat Vasco da Gama 2-1 in their last game to clinch their second Brazilian championship in three years. Finishes as joint top scorer for Santos with 21 goals.
    January: Santos deny reports that Robinho will join Real Madrid. Santos president Marcelo Teixeira later advises Robinho to stay at Santos until the 2006 World Cup.
    June: Part of Brazil squad for Confederations Cup. Turns in a virtuoso performance in Brazil's 3-0 win over Greece scoring one, winning a penalty for a second, andup being voted Man of the Match.
    June 29: Brazil beat Argentina 4-1 to win Confederations Cup. After the game, Robinho says he wants to join Real Madrid.
    July 1: Fails to turn up to training with Santos as club president Teixeira refuses to sell the forward for less than the $50 million buyout clause stipulated in the player's contract which lasts till 2008. Teixeira accuses Real of making an illicit approach to the player.
    July 21: Real deposit a guarantee to pay $30 million to Santos with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), which equates to 60 percent of the buy-out clause, in order to buy the club's share of Robinho's rights.
    Santos reject the offer, saying Real have to pay the full $50 million penalty clause stipulated in the player's contract.
    July 29: The CBF refuse to send the player's International Transfer Certificate to Spain.
    July 30: Real reach a deal with Santos to buy the player, who will join the club on August 25.
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