Robinho

Born in a poor neighbourhood of Sao Vicente, Brazil, in 1984, the young Robinho began playing football almost as soon as he could walk. At the age of just six, he was signed to a local football academy, where he helped his team to win the championship in his first year. Aged eight, he moved on to the five-a-side indoor game known as futsal, and a year later scored an incredible 73 goals in one season. Clearly, the young prodigy would go far, and he was quickly snapped up by Brazilian club Santos, training in their youth programme before signning professional forms at the age of 17. His form brought him to the attention of many top European clubs, but he would have to wait until 2005 for a move to giants Real Madrid. Robinho scored 14 goals in his first season in La Liga, but differences with then manager Fabio Capello saw him spend most of 2006/7 on the substitutes' bench. Undeterred, he fought his way back into the starting eleven and by the end of the 2007/8 season, Robinho wasthe subject of intense transfer spectulation, with Chelsea rumoured to be on the brink of securing his signature. An incredible last-minute swoop by Manchester City stunned fans and commentators alike, and it was clear that City had made an excellent signing when Robinho scored his first Premier League goal on his debut just two weeks later. Robinho's style and Brazilian flair has reinvigorated the Machester City side, and his goals have been invaluable to Mark Hughes's team. And from his childhood in the slums of Sao Vicente to the kidnap of his mother in 2004, his personal life has been packed with as much drama as his performances on the pitch. Robinho: King of the City tells the fascinating story of this record-breaking striker.