carling cup is just there to keep the substitues entertained. i see jermaine pennant got a game for us, and arsenal put out their boys team.

Such is the strength of the new financial muscle at Manchester City that the club not only broke the British transfer record to sign Robinho but – in a move unheard of in modern-day football – also paid his £32.5m fee in a one-off up-front payment to Real Madrid. To ensure that the deadline day deal went through in time it is also understood that a payment of £4.2m was made to Robinho's agents, led by his fellow Brazilian, Wagner Ribeiro.


The extraordinary transfer was secured to make sure that City could steal the 24-year-old from under the noses of Chelsea and appease the demands of the club's new owners, Abu Dhabi United Group, who had also scattered bids around Europe for players such as Dimitar Berbatov, Fernando Torres and David Villa, that a star signing should be secured before the transfer window closed. Once the player's wages – which could peak as high as £160,000 a week – are factored in over a four-year contract it means that, including all fees, he will cost City a cool £70m.