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<\/p>\nThe powers of Abu Dhabi were in no mood to waste time after taking over Manchester City in 2008.<\/p>\n
And Mark Hughes has summed up just how eager the club's new overlords were to make their mark immediately after purchasing the Premier League club. The football world baulked when City completed the signing of Robinho from Real Madrid on deadline day that year, but a class act in Catalonia was also in the mix to become their marquee signing.<\/p>\n
Hughes, 60, was only a couple of months into the role as City chief and was golfing when former chief executive Garry Cook informed him the takeover was official. And the (transfer) world was apparently Hughes' oyster, to an extent, as he was faced with the open-ended question: "Who do you want?"<\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/b>'I lost the Ballon d'Or to Lionel Messi in 2010 – I still think it was a little unfair'<\/b><\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/b>Man City charged for players surrounding ref \u2013 as Erling Haaland learns fate<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cThey had all these bids out and nothing was happening, then all of a sudden they had a little nibble from Robinho and Real Madrid,\u201d said Hughes during an appearance on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast. \u201cWe had to try to make it happen and I knew the Real Madrid coach at the time, Bernd Schuster, so I was on the phone to him asking if there was any chance of letting Robinho speak to us.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a crazy day, there were bids going out for Lionel Messi and all sorts! We finally managed to get Robinho over the line which was a hell of a statement, and the rest is history."<\/p>\n
Who would be the one current player you'd want to see at your club? Let us know in the comments section below.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
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Hughes acknowledged City still weren't the most attractive proposition at the time, battling for "mid-table to bottom if we\u2019re honest." It was perhaps no surprise then that Messi, who was approaching his peak at Barcelona, decided to shun the move and remain in La Liga.<\/p>\n
Robinho merely cracked open the floodgates to what what would become a torrent of big-money additions with world-class CVs at the Etihad over the next 15 years. and Hughes provided one funny detail to a transfer likely motivated by little else other than money.<\/p>\n
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Prime Video is available as part of the Amazon Prime membership, which costs \u00a38.99 per month or \u00a395 annually for an individual.<\/p>\n
The membership gives access to all the perks of Amazon Prime (including free Premium and Same- Day Delivery in selected residential postcodes, and other benefits) plus the full library of content available through Prime Video. <\/p>\n
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"There\u2019s probably a grain of truth in the rumour that Robinho thought he was actually signing for Manchester United," he continued. "He certainly didn\u2019t recognise me when he turned up, he was probably expecting to see Sir Alex Ferguson at the airport! He was probably a bit disappointed to say the least.\u201d<\/p>\n
Messi or not, City have succeeded in transforming from mid-table meddlers to European powerhouse since that deal, evidenced by last season's treble. However, all the club's glories and mountain of silverware has come under scrutiny amid their 115 charges of potential FFP breaches, which is scheduled to go to court in 2024.<\/p>\n