Chelsea 'interested in Robinho', Claims Agent

Robinho could be Luiz Felipe Scolari's next recruit after the Real Madrid forward's agent claimed he had met with Chelsea's sporting director Frank Arnesen to discuss a move to Stamford Bridge. Scolari made his first move as Chelsea manager yesterday by signing Deco from Barcelona and could return to La Liga for his second, according to Robinho's representative Vagner Ribeiro.

"It's true that Chelsea are interested in signing Robinho," said Ribeiro. "They have been after him for a while and there has been much more contact since Scolari became the new Chelsea coach. I met with [Frank] Arnesen in London and he confirmed to me that Chelsea wanted my player for next season."

Ribeiro believes Madrid are undervaluing Robinho and not treating him as he well as he deserves. The Spanish champions are reportedly keen to offload the player to free up some cash to buy Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, but Ribeiro insists his client is as good as, if not better than, the Portugal international. "Neither Robinho nor I like the fact that Real Madrid can use him as part exchange in their bid to sign Cristiano Ronaldo," he told Spanish sports daily AS. "We don't like this attitude and we want Madrid to start valuing Robinho because at the moment they're not. Robinho is as good a player as Cristiano Ronaldo or better. The difference is that Cristiano Ronaldo reached the Champions League final and Robinho didn't. But if Robinho had won such a title he would be at the same level as Cristiano."

Robinho played an important role in Madrid's league success last season - scoring 11 goals in 32 games - and enjoyed his best campaign since joining the club in 2005. Ribeiro claims the 24-year-old is not keen to leave, but that he would seriously consider doing so if Madrid continue to undervalue him. "Robinho's priority is to continue at Real Madrid," he added. "But he cannot stay in a place in which they don't recognize his talent and at the moment Real Madrid are not doing that and I'm not talking about money. I'm referring to the fact that they are undervaluing him in comparison to Cristiano Ronaldo."