Childhood & Early Life
Robson de Souza was born on January 25, 1984, in Sao Vicente, Sao Paulo, Brazil. He was raised by his parents, Marina da Silva Souza, and Gilvan de Souza. His mother is a caterer, while his father, who previously worked as a salesman, is now Robinho’s professional agent.
Robinho developed a liking for football in his early childhood. He became the leader of his indoor football team at a very young age and scored 73 goals in his first season.
He caught the attention of the Brazilian great, Pele, when he was just 15 years old. Pele helped him strike a contract with ‘Santos FC’ and also named him as his heir apparent. Robinho was just 18 years old when he started playing for the club’s senior team.
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Career
Robinho made 37 appearances during his first season with ‘Real Madrid’ and scored 14 goals. He helped his team win its 30th ‘La Liga’ title, which was Robinho’s third league championship.
He finished the 2007-08 ‘La Liga’ season with 11 goals and eight assists. He added four more goals to his tally while representing his team at the ‘Champions League’ campaign. He then got injured and could not play for a while. During his stay with ‘Real Madrid,’ Robinho became the third-highest scorer for the Spanish club.
In 2008, after a confusion regarding ‘Real Madrid’ wanting to bring Cristiano Ronaldo into the team, Robinho rejected the club’s new contract and decided to move on to another club.
He signed a four-year contract with ‘Manchester City’ and made his debut for the club against ‘Chelsea’ in September 2008. He scored a goal and contributed to the team’s 3-1 win over ‘Chelsea.’
On October 26, 2008, he scored his first hat-trick in a ‘Premiere League’ against ‘Stoke City.’ In November 2008, he scored a goal in his club’s 3-2 win against ‘FC Twente’ in a group stage game at the ‘UEFA Cup.’
Robinho finished the season as the top ‘Manchester City’ scorer, scoring a total of 14 goals. He also ended up as the fourth highest scorer of the league. He could not play for three months in the second season due to his injury, but still managed to appear in 12 games.
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Due to his injury, he could not perform consistently for ‘Manchester City’ and went back to his home club ‘Santos’ on a six-month loan deal in 2010. He then helped ‘Santos’ win the ‘Copa Brasil.’
At the end of his loan deal, Robinho stated that he wants to stay back with ‘Santos’ instead of rejoining ‘Manchester City.’ But the English club refused to extend his loan deal and hence he was forced to return to England. In the August of 2010, he started his training with ‘Manchester City,’ but decided to move to another club within a month.
On August 31, 2010, Robinho signed a four-year deal with A.C. Milan. He made his debut as a substitute in a 2-0 defeat, but soon scored his first goal for the club and contributed to the team’s 3-1 win against ‘A.C. ChievoVerona.’
During the 2011-12 ‘Serie A’ season, he contributed to his team’s victory in ‘Supercoppa Italiana.’ During the ‘Serie A’ competition, he scored a total of 11 goals and helped ‘Milan’ to secure a second position.
Robinho suffered an injury during his first match against ‘Sampdoria’ and then suffered another injury during his training session. He made a comeback as a substitute in a game against ‘Malaga,’ which ended in a draw.
He then scored a goal against ‘Juventus’ on November 25, 2012. On July 18, 2013, he signed a new contract with ‘Milan.’ On October 22, 2013, he scored the first goal of the ‘Champions League’ against ‘Barcelona.’ However, he suffered a groin strain after the match.
He was plagued by several injuries throughout the season. Despite his injuries, he managed to score a goal against ‘Spezia Calcio’ in the team’s ‘Coppa Italia’ campaign. He returned to ‘Santos’ in 2014 after acquiring a one-year loan deal.
After his return, he scored a goal against ‘Londrina’ in the ‘Copa do Brasil’ championship. Thereafter, he scored another goal against ‘Gremio.’
He scored his last goal of the season for ‘Santos’ on September 21, playing against ‘Figueirense FC.’ He then rescinded all his contracts before signing a six-month contract with the ‘Chinese Super League’ team ‘Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao’ in 2016.
On February 11, he signed a two-year contract with ‘Atletico Mineiro.’ During his stay with ‘Atletico Mineiro,’ he scored 25 goals to become the highest scorer in Brazil for the year 2016.
As an international player, Robinho played in the 2006 ‘FIFA World Cup’ in Germany. He then represented his national team at the 2007 ‘Copa America’ which Brazil won after defeating Argentina. In 2009, he contributed to Brazil’s success at the ‘Confederations Cup,’ which his team won after defeating the US.
Personal Life
Robinho’s mother was abducted for a ransom in 2004, and was released unharmed after six-weeks when the ransom was paid. In 2009, he married Vivian Guglielminetti. Robinho and Vivian are blessed with two sons, namely Robson Jr. and Gianluca.
On November 23, 2017, Robinho was sentenced to nine years in prison by an Italian court after he was found guilty for sexually assaulting a 22-year-old Albanian woman. At the time of sentencing, he was in Brazil, and as per Brazilian law, the country’s citizens cannot be extradited to a foreign land.
