Man. City confirm Robinho to join Santos on loan

Robinho, Manchester City's unsettled Brazilian forward, is to join his first club Santos on a six-month loan, the English Premier League side confirmed yesterday.

In a statement on their official website, City said the Brazilian club had agreed to pay all of the player's wages and bonuses for the period, which begins immediately and ends on August 4.

Robinho reportedly earns £160,000 a week.

Manager Roberto Mancini said: "Robinho is someone who needs to be playing regularly and we wish him well for the period of his loan."

The 26-year-old, who began his career at Santos, will leave for Brazil on Sunday.

Signed from Real Madrid in 2008 for a British transfer record of 32.5 million pounds, Robinho has failed to make a major impression on English football.

He has only sporadically produced anything like his best form for City and had grown disillusioned with life in the north of England.

In City's 2-0 Premier League defeat by Everton earlier this month, he suffered the embarrassment of being taken off by Mancini before the end of the match having only come on as a substitute.

A return to his homeland will offer Robinho the opportunity to secure a place in Brazil's squad for the World Cup in South Africa and City officials are hopeful that a return to form will help them recoup most of the huge fee they paid for him.