Robinho: Why Milan Should Think Twice About Keeping the Brazilian

Last season, Robinho was tied at the top of the salary chart table at Milan.

He made a whopping €4m a year for being an afterthought, often relegated to the bench by coach Massimiliano Allegri.

All this money for a paltry two goals in 23 domestic appearances, mostly as a substitute.

The last time he was a consistent contributor to the Rossoneri was when he partnered up alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic a few seasons ago.

In 2010-11, Robinho managed 14-goals and seemed to finally show his true potential at a big club.

The current reality tells a much different tale. Milan tried desperately to offload Robinho to a host of Brazilian clubs who were interested, but couldn't meet the wage demands.

Most recently, it seemed Santos had nearly secured a deal, but it fell through at the last moment and the club said it would stop all negotiations with Milan.

Shortly after, the player himself came out and claimed he would remain with the Rossoneri next season, even if sporting director Adriano Galliani said the fate of the player would be decided within the next ten days.

It's not unusual to see another potential Milan sale be shrouded in mystery.

One can fondly recall the club fervently denying the sales of the likes of Kaka and Thiago Silva only weeks before they were shipped to their new destination.

In this case, the sale of Robinho should be viewed as a mandatory adjustment.

The Brazilian earns a stratospheric wage which is usually reserved for a player who's the team catalyst, or a constant contributor.

With the type of picky transfer market adopted by Milan, which is based on the developing of youngsters and purchases of players that are always financially negated by sales, a Robinho exit would equal a door opening for a promising youngster like Fiorentina starlet Adem Ljajic.

Expect Adriano Galliani to keep playing the media game by flip-flopping his opinion on Robinho.

Now, it remains to be seen if there's a European team interested in a player who has never quite managed to display his full potential.

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