Barcelona admit defeat in move for Man City forward Robinho... for now at least

21 December 2009 15:26
Barcelona have given up on a January move for Robinho after revealing they had been knocked back in a bid to sign him by Manchester City.[LNB]The Catalan giants wanted to sign the Brazil forward on loan in January without any guarantee that they would make his deal permanent in the summer.[LNB]However, City have rejected the approach for their £34million British record signing, who joined the club from Real Madrid 15 months ago.[LNB] No go: Barca have admitted defeat on a January move for Robinho[LNB]Barca president Joan Laporta was expected to hold further talks with City owner Sheik Mansour after Saturday's Club World Cup triumph in Abu Dhabi.[LNB]But Laporta revealed: 'Robinho will not be coming. We are pleased with our squad and if we have to do some fine-tuning, we will. [LNB]'Our offer for Robinho was not accepted and the team that we have, unless something unforeseen arises at the last minute, will not be changed in winter.'[LNB]The Spanish giants will now weigh up whether to make another move for Robinho at the end of the season.[LNB]New City boss Roberto Mancini is likely to give the Brazilian a chance to resurrect his flagging Eastlands career.[LNB]And if the talented forward can rediscover his best form, Mancini will do every thing in his power to keep hold of Robinho.[LNB] Good to talk: Robinho keen for showdown with new Manchester City boss ManciniInter Milan warn ex-boss Mancini not to try taking 'Super Mario' to Eastlands Hughes was given stay of execution to help Mancini settle in at Man City MANCHESTER CITY

Source: Daily_Mail