Robinho

This season’s La Liga title has been remarkably one sided, as Barcelona have assumed a commanding lead over their rivals at the top of the table, which sees the betting for the league switch instead to who will finish second. Realistically it would seem to be a clear fight between the two Madrid sides – Real and Atletico – and there are currently only two points separating them, making it ideal for betting fans. The closeness also makes it hard to call though, so are there any tips to help choose the best side to bet on?

Well looking at the comparative strengths of the two sides, it would seem to be clear that Real have the stronger side – including match winning individuals like Cristiano Ronaldo. This ensures that, despite being behind Atletico at the moment, Real are still the odds-on favourites to finish second.

Dispelling rumours that the Brazilian striker Robinho is unhappy at the club, the AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani has said that the Brazilian would leave the club only if it was to the Brazilian club Santos. Robinho started his career with the Brazilian club Santos before moving on to play for the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester city before eventually arriving at the San Siro. AC Milan have been selling a number of the established players over the last few years due to financial difficulties. The club only recently sold the Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato during the January transfer window, with Robinho expected to follow suit.

However, the former Manchester City striker ended up staying at San Siro, and Galliani has said that the striker is extremely happy at the club. The 29-year-old has managed to make just 16 appearances in all competitions this season. He has been affected by several problems like injuries and poor form over the course of the campaign. The arrival of the Italian international Mario Balotelli will only serve to decrease the first-team opportunities for Robinho, but the striker will leave the club only if it was for Santos. Robinho's contract with the Italian club comes to an end in just over 12 months.

"Robinho is feeling very good at Milan. He turned down a number of Brazilian teams because Santos are the only option for him if he returns to Brazil. However, Santos did not reach an agreement with Milan and with the player for several reasons. And we are happy to have him with us," said the AC Milan CEO. After struggling during the first half of the season, Milan have been almost unstoppable recently. As a result, they have climbed into the top three positions of the Italian Serie A table that will enable them to play in the Champions League next season.

The AC Milan Chief executive Adriano Galliani has said that the Brazilian players Alexandre Pato and Robinho have likely to leave the club in the January transfer window. He has confirmed that he has met with officials from the Brazilian club Corinthians over the possibility of selling these two players.

It has been long rumoured that the former Real Madrid and Manchester city striker Robinho will be looking for a move away from the club once the transfer window reopens because he has stayed away from his home country for too long. Robinho came to European football back in 2005 and has not played in his home country since then.

Meanwhile, Pato is of the opinion that returning to Brazil will finally help him bring back the confidence and recover from the injury problems he has suffered numerous occasions in the past. Pato was once regarded as the next big thing to come from Brazilian football. He was even awarded the famous No.7 shirt by the club upon his arrival. However, a succession of injury problems have taken the edge out of his game and the club are believed to be interested in the possibility of discussing a transfer offer for him. They have apparently received a € 15 million offer from Corinthians.

“It’s a bit of a sad Christmas, but a defeat can happen and the game with Roma was rather unusual. Pato and Robinho? We’ll see how these two negotiations go. The lads want to go home to their own country. Which of the two is the simplest deal to work out? Nothing is ever simple. It’s difficult, above all in economic terms. We’ll see," said the AC Milan Chief executive Adriano Galliani. It remains to be seen if the club will be willing to invest the money back into the squad.

The AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri has said that the star striker Robinho should improve a lot in order to regain his first-team spot. After losing out on the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Filippo Inzaghi, the club struggled a lot during the early part of the season.

However, the emergence of the 19-year-old striker Stephan El Shaarawy from the shadows has meant that it is extremely difficult for Robinho to regain the first-team spot according to the manager. He has said that the Brazil international should be performing at the same level as he did when he initially arrived at the club in order to regain the first-team spot.

However, Allegri is also said that he is extremely happy with the impact made by the 19-year-old in the AC Milan first-team. The seven time European cup winners are going through a difficult period in the history of the club. However, the manager reckons that it is not bad as people think because they are making good progress in the last few weeks and they should really be high up on the table than their current position. AC Milan have taken just 14 points from the opening 12 matches of the season. They will be facing Napoli during the weekend, and Allegri is wary of the challenge posed by Walter Materazzi's team.

"I hope that El Shaarawy keeps on doing well both for us and the national side, which is made up of many young players at the moment. He manages himself well in an important part of his career and he's a balanced lad. He'll have to stay calm in the difficult moments that the future may bring. He's grown very quickly and nobody was expecting it. We have a lot of quality in attack and Robinho has yet to come back to the extraordinary heights of his first year [at the club]," said Allegri.

The AC Milan striker, Robinho, has said that his compatriot Neymar should join Barcelona if he wants to develop his game. Neymar is currently playing for the Brazilian club Santos, but, he was approached by many clubs during the pre season transfer window.

Some big clubs namely Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United were reported to have shown interest in him, but, Neymar opted to continue playing in the Brazilian League.

As per Robinho, Neymar can’t develop his game much by playing in the Brazilian League. He should look for the options outside Brazil. Barcelona is the best option for him. There are so many great players in the Barcelona camp and a young player like Neymar would get an ideal environment there.

Meanwhile, the vice president of Santos, Odilio Santo Rodrigues, has said that the club wants to sign Robinho and the club would try to buy him from Milan during the mid season transfer window. Robinho had begun his career playing for Santos.

He had signed for Santos way back in 2002 when he was just 18 years of age. Robinho proved to be a big flop in his debut season for the club and he was able to score only one goal in the 24 matches that he played in his first season for Santos. But, he made a terrific comeback in the next season. He featured for Santos in 37 matches in the 2003-04 season and scored 21 goals. In July 2005, Robinho left Santos and signed for Real Madrid.

On being asked whether he wants to sign for his old club again, Robinho said that he hasn’t yet thought about it. The season is going on and there is no point thinking about transfer issues at current point of time. He just wants to focus on his game and win more and more matches for Milan in the ongoing season.

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The Brazilian club Santos have failed in their attempts to bring their former star player Robinho back to the club in this transfer window according to the President of the club. Luis Alvaro Ribeiro has said that the club have indeed had a bid rejected by the Italian club AC Milan for the 28-year-old, who is one of the few quality attacking players left at the club. Due to the departure of players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Filippo Inzaghi, it is expected that Robinho will be the main attacking threat alongside Pato. As a result, it has removed any doubts regarding the future of the Brazilian, who has stated in the past that he would leave the club if he did not get regular first-team football.

Only a few days ago, Robinho came out with a statement saying that he is not looking to leave AC Milan, which has gone a long way into pleasing the AC Milan fans who have been extremely infuriated by the sale of Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The deal has brought in a combined £ 55 million for the club, which is struggling with financial problems. Yet, they are looking to hold onto the star asset according to the President of Santos.

"We presented an offer of R$10 million (€4 million) and they wanted R$15 million (€6 million). They also didn't accept because they had lost Ibrahimovic. Diego would come on loan, but Wolfsburg were asking for R$14 million in a year's time, so we gave up," said the President of the club in the radio program back in Brazil. The club are looking to bring both Robinho and Diego back to the club. Both these players made their name with Santos and are now recognised stars across the world. Santos'revenues have been boosted by the local TV deal.

Spanish club Malaga have emerged as the surprise future destination for AC Milan striker Robinho. The former Real Madrid and Manchester City star has been linked with a move away from the San Siro after failing to secure a regular first-team football.

It is also thought that into the significantly high wage bill, AC Milan will be looking to sell Robinho in order to fund the presence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The 30-year-old Swedish striker is regarded as one of the best players in the world, which is one of the reasons for this extraordinary salary. This has put pressure on AC Milan to sell Robinho in order to fund his presence.

It was initially thought that AC Milan will be opening negotiations with Brazilian club Santos where Robinho first started career. He was initially compared with Brazilian legend Pele, but his career has gone off the track after his move to Manchester City in 2008. He was a British record transfer signing for around £ 32 million back in 2008, but he failed to settled at the English club. This soon led to a transfer to AC Milan, but it is thought that the Brazilian will be finally looking to move away from the Italian club. Malaga are interested in securing his signature according to Robinho's agent.

"I can confirm that Malaga like my client but, with all due respect, I think they cannot afford a player of that level. A return to Brazil? In football everything can happen. He is well in AC Milan and so his future will depend on the Rossoneri's willingness to sell," Robinho's agent Juan Figer told Calciomercato. The 28-year-old is expected to cost around £ 20 million, but it is not a problem for Spanish club Malaga as they are funded by a rich benefactor.

Santos president Luis Alvaro Ribeiro has said that it is very difficult to sign AC Milan striker Robinho, thereby bringing him back to the club where he started his career. Robinho was touted as the next big thing in Brazil when he was playing for Santos.

This subsequently led to a transfer to Real Madrid many seasons ago. Just when he was establishing himself at Real Madrid, his future was thrown into doubt following the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo. He left Madrid for Manchester City in the summer of 2008, but failed to settle in England. It led to a loan move to Italy with AC Milan, who then converted the deal into a permanent one.

However, after a disappointing season with AC Milan in which he has failed to win the league title and also the Champions League, it is expected that the club will be looking at the possibility of selling him in the summer. AC Milan have lost a number of players following the end of the season. Players like Alessandro Nesta, Clarence Seedorf, Filippo Inzaghi, Zambrotta, and Gattuso will be leaving Milan at the end of the season. It is an end of an era, but more importantly, it calls for the replacement in the form of a number of signings. In order to fund them, Robinho is likely to be one of the players sold, with Santos a firm favourite to sign him.

"It is still a distant dream. The fact that he wants to return can help, yes, but this time around, trading would not be like in 2010, with Manchester City. It would be something totally different, with another financial agreement. At that time, he came on loan. Now, it seems that Milan will only agree to sell him because they are keen to invest in top players," said Ribeiro.

AC Milan striker Robinho has said that Santos striker Neymar should choose Barcelona over Real Madrid if in a situation both clubs come in for him. Real Madrid signing the Brazilian has been the biggest history this transfer window, with Barcelona not being linked with him as much as Real Madrid. However, Robinho believes that Neymar would be better off choosing Barcelona over Real Madrid because in doing so Neymar will not be making the same mistake as him. Robinho signed for Real Madrid a few seasons ago and spent three seasons with the club.

However, he had to leave the club in acrimonious circumstances to Manchester city. It was a move that never succeeded in the end. Finally, Robinho left Manchester City for his current club AC Milan, where he has been quite successful. Now, the forward has said that Neymar should be choosing his next move with a lot more care. As a result, he should be choosing Barcelona over Real Madrid if the two clubs decide to come in for the striker. Neymar is valued at around £ 40 million by the Brazilian club Santos. Robinho says that a move to Barcelona will help his career a lot because the pressure is greatly reduced at Barcelona.

He also says that the number of chances a striker gets at Real Madrid is far less when compared with Barcelona. "He should go to Barcelona, without doubt, because his style of play would suit them much more. There is no vanity among the Barca players. He would be appreciated much more there. In Madrid when a player is in front of goal it is much harder to be given the ball. At Barcelona it is not," Robinho was quoted as saying with regard to a question about Brazilian sensation Neymar.