Real Madrid lash out at Chelsea over Robinho

AFP - 31 August 2008 13:55

Real Madrid´s Brazilian striker Robinho (seen here in June 2008) has said that his

MADRID (AFP) - Real Madrid lashed out Sunday at Chelsea over the English Premier League club's continued efforts to lure Brazilian striker Robinho away from the Spanish champions.

Real said it "profoundly regretted the behaviour of Chelsea's directors who, despite knowing perfectly well the decision not to sell the player, have continued to make statements and gestures, even going as far as to sell shirts with the player's name through their official web site."

"All this has done is to cloud the situation and confuse public opinion," it added in a statement posted on its web site just hours after Robinho restated his desire to join Chelsea at a Madrid press conference.

"I've already told the president (Ramon Calderon), and coach (Bernd Schuster), management and (the media): my head is there (at Chelsea), I want to play over there," the 24-year-old said.

"Until now I've never had a problem in the locker room (at Real)," he added.

Real also hit out at Robinho in its statement, saying the player had created a distraction ahead of their first match of the new season later on Sunday at Deportivo La Coruna.

"Just before an important official match, Real Madrid feels that all of its attention should be focused on the game, a criteria that has been completely ignored by its player Robinho, with the statements he made just hours before the match," it said.

During his press conference Robinho, who joined Real in 2005, attacked the club for their attitude to him during the summer when his father and agent had been trying to negotiate a new contract for him.

"The club showed little interest in keeping me," said Robinho of Real who focused their efforts on their failed bid to sign Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United.

"The problem is that (Real Madrid) did not manage to recruit.

"Schuster isn't my father, he's my coach. He can't make me do anything."

Real also recently failed in their bid to sign two Spanish internationals Santi Cazorla from Villarreal and David Villa from Valencia.

"I want to leave, nothing more," he added.

Chelsea's Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has been keen to tie up a 27 million pounds (33.7 million euros) swoop for Robinho before the transfer window shuts at midnight on Monday.

But Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon insisted Saturday they would not be letting the striker go.

"He's going to stay here, I'm saying that," Calderon told the daily ABC, adding that the Brazilian was "a good boy, badly advised" by his entourage.