While I was away, a very big move occurred, Robinho moved from Real Madrid to Man City on the last day of the Summer Transfer Window.  The fee for Robinho was 42.5 million euro, netting ‘binho a very nice, 160,000 pounds a week.

The move to the Premiership should be a good one for Robinho.  The strength of Spanish soccer and La Liga is comparable to the Premier League in that they both have a bevy of powerhouses and play very competitive soccer. Also, Robinho will be among friends in Brazil National Team teammates, Jo and Elano.

Right before the transfer was made official, Real President, Ramon Calderon, made some very interesting comments.  He stated, that he would rather end Robinho’s career than see him play for Real.  There was speculation all summer long that a Robinho move was in the works and it was only a matter of time before ‘Binho found himself off of Real.

Finally, we should look at Man City’s outlook for this season.  To be quite honest, the powers of the Premiership will be in front, Man U, Arsenal, and Liverpool, but look for Man City to make a run at a higher place than last season.  They also have a good future ahead of them in a new striker, Robinho and summer acquiree Gio Dos Santos.

• Carlos Cuellar has moved from Rangers to Aston Villa.  The Spanish Center Back is on the move after only one year with the Scottish League.
• Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas will miss at least the first 2 EPL matches with an injury.
• There has been a lot of rumors going around surrounding Barcelona and Samuel Eto’o.  One team in Europe made a rather bold statement claiming that they had inked the Barcelona forward.  Obviously, that has turned into nothing.  As it stands now, Coach Pep Guardiola has announced that he will remain with Barca. 
• Robinho has recently told Real Madrid that he will only move to Chelsea with a new deal set in place before any transfer takes place.  This obviously means that a new deal, will mean new money.  I think a change of scenery will help Robinho along and hopefully if he is moved, he will find his place with the Blues.
• Valencia rejected a bid from Man U for midfielder David Silva.  Valencia did not finish in the top this season in La Liga much to the surprise of many given the amount of talent they have.

Other Updates:

• Roma has made an opening bid for Fiorentina’s Adrian Mutu.
• The Mafia have reportedly tried to buy Lazio.
• French national and former Chelsea player Makalele has joined Paris-Saint German.
• Diego has defied his club Werder Bremer and has joined Brazil to play in the 2008 Olympic Games.

A look at the 2008 Beijing Games is coming up next!

As some of you may know, I put out an article myself about one of his National Team Teammates, Ronaldinho. It seems both ‘Inhos, have fallen out of favor with their respective clubs, Barcelona and Real Madrid-how ironic. Both rivals, are sure to be losing key players if they so choose to let go both guys.

Furthermore, the Robinho situation is quite interesting. He has been benched by Bernd Schuster, the Madrid boss. Supposedly Robinho has ditched training sessions rather sneakingly which has not impressed his coach either. He has taken a rather nice liking to jumping out of a dressing room window during training sessions while avoiding the team, the press, and of course Schuster himself.

The general consensus is that Manchester City, who has been in the market for sometime for a big name, is interested. Also, Manchester City has been included in the discussion for Ronaldinho’s services if they become available.

We shall watch these situations very closely to see what ends up happening. By the way, Robinho was the proposed front-runner for the FIFA World Player of the Year award but has fallen out of this race due to these occurrences.