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

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.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.However, City have rejected the approach for their £34million British record signing, who joined the club from Real Madrid 15 months ago. No go: Barca have admitted defeat on a January move for RobinhoBarca president Joan Laporta was expected to hold further talks with City owner Sheik Mansour after Saturday's Club World Cup triumph in Abu Dhabi.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. '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.'The Spanish giants will now weigh up whether to make another move for Robinho at the end of the season.New City boss Roberto Mancini is likely to give the Brazilian a chance to resurrect his flagging Eastlands career.And if the talented forward can rediscover his best form, Mancini will do every thing in his power to keep hold of Robinho. 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