KEY POINTS:
The road never ran smoothly for Robinho at Real Madrid, right from the kidnapping of his mother that almost stopped his £17 million ($44 million) move there three years ago to the Brazilian coach and mentor who signed him being sacked a few months after he arrived.
Long before it all ended in tears this week, literally if the Real president, Ramon Calderon, is to be believed, there were signs that the club and Robinho were just never going to hit it off. Pele set the bar for the 21-year-old who arrived at Real from Santos in 2005 when he proclaimed: "This is the new Pele."
Stories of Robinho being booked in Brazil for incitement - five stepovers in front of a fullback who finally lost his temper and lashed out - added to the myth. His 24-minute cameo in his debut as a substitute in Real's win over Cadiz just three days after he landed in Spain increased still more the feeling that something special had just begun.
But, played as a central striker by Wanderley Luxemburgo, he weakly bounced off central defenders as Real struggled in La Liga.
Luxemburgo, who had also been Robinho's coach at Santos, was sacked. Without the kingmaker, the boy who would be king was suddenly back to just being a boy.
That is how he was treated at the Bernabeu right up until his departure.
The prodigy must now try to fulfil his potential in the Premier League.
He is also prepared for the pressure that will come with his big price tag.
The man crowned "king of the step-overs" or bicicletas as they are known in Spain, finally got on his bike.
"Get Lost" screamed the front page of one paper here that had led with "And God created Robinho" the day after his spectacular debut.
Divine or dire?
At 24 the man dubbed a crybaby by Real Madrid still has plenty of time to make it the former.
- INDEPENDENT