Schuster: Robinho Not Coming To A Coruña

It’s been the story of the two R’s at Real Madrid this summer; Ronaldo and Robinho. The former was rumoured to be joining Los Blancos and the latter could possibly be leaving them, although with the transfer window closing soon it does seem unlikely.

Despite this though manager Bernd Schuster has confirmed in a recent interview that the Brazilian will not travel with the squad to face Deportivo La Coruña and that it has been his decision.

Schuster confirmed: “I would like the whole matter to be over by now but it isn’t. He won’t travel to Coruña. It has been my decision and whilst the club has expressed it’s opinion to me, as always it’s allowed me to make the decision.”

The striker seemed on the verge of joining Chelsea last week but the deal seems to have been called off for one reason or another, and Schuster stresses that it was not Robinho’s decision not to play. He asserted: “The decision has been mine; I want him to sort his situation out. We’ll see what to do with him when he returns from playing with Brazil.”

Too Much Pressure

There is little doubt that the past few weeks have been a turbulent time for Robinho and the coach admits as much, saying: “There has been a lot of pressure from his entourage and he isn’t fully ready to play. He’s got too much on his mind.

“We realised this during the Spanish Super Cup. We wanted to win the title, so we decided to play it safe with men that were more focused. Robinho won’t be fit to play until the whole matter is over.”

Despite the messy saga, Schuster does admit that he wants the Brazilian to stay at Real Madrid, insisting: “I want him to stay. I’ve always said so and I stand by what I say. He is an important player for us.

“I know what’s best for him, just like a father knows what’s best for his son. He will eventually realise we are right,” he concluded.

Riazor Blade

Speaking away from the topic of Robinho, the coach also had time to share his thoughts about the opener in the Riazor - a stadium in which Real Madrid haven’t won for 17 years. He continued: “ It is an important trip for us, we want to break the streak of not winning in the Riazor. We must be motivated, like against Barcelona and Osasuna last year.”

Los Blancos go into the game at the weekend knowing they are just two short of scoring their 5,000th goal in the league - a feat which Schuster still believes Robinho could achieve. “He could score our 5,000th goal in the Bernabeu if we win 1-0 tomorrow,” he said. “It could happen.”


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