Source: Telegraph
Manchester City not looking to sell Robinho insists Mark Hughes
The £32.5m British record signing, who remains sidelined with a stress fracture of the ankle that is expected to keep him out of action for another fortnight, has spoken of his interest in a January move to Barcelona this week.
The European champions failed in a bid to sign the former Real Madrid forward during the summer, but another attempted to lure him to the Nou Camp is now being planned for the transfer window.
Hughes has been told by Manchester City chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak that any decision on the future of Robinho, or any player in his squad, will be left in the manager's hands. And the City boss admits that he has no plans to offload Robinho when the transfer window opens on Jan 1.
Hughes said: "There will always be speculation and noise surrounding Robinho, but we are not in the process of taking outstanding players out of the squad.
"We are not looking to move Robi or anyone else out of the club. We are looking to build here, not dismantle.
"Robi is a great guy and the only frustration at the moment is that he is not fit and able to make a contribution for the team."
Hughes spent over £120m in the summer to boost his squad at Eastlands, but he claims he has no intention of another huge outlay in the market in January.
He said: "People must understand that what happened in the last window was unprecedented and it won't happen again in the future.
"This notion that we will throw money at it to make things happen is not the case. It is simply about making sure that we look at players and areas that need strengthening and improving."
City face Wigan on Sunday with injury concerns over no fewer than eleven players. Craig Bellamy (groin), Kolo Toure (heel) and Wayne Bridge (groin) are likely to miss the clash with Roberto Martinez's team.
