Manchester star tempted by move to Barca

Robinho’s representatives will meet Manchester City next week to discuss his exit, according to the player’s agent.

Evandro de Souza also confirmed that his client would love to play for Barcelona, after he was linked with a swap deal to take Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Eastlands.

The Brazilian fell out of favour with Roberto Mancini last season and was shipped out to Santos on loan.

The Manchester side have been in negotiations with Barca over the prospective signing of Yaya Toure as well as Swedish striker Ibrahimovic and reports in Spain have suggested Robinho could be thrown into any deal with the Catalan side to reduce their asking price.

The former Real Madrid player has expressed his desire to make his loan deal with Santos permanent but the Brazilian side are unlikely to be able to afford City’s demands.

De Souza told Spanish newspaper Sport: “Any footballer in the world would love to play for a club like Barca.

“The relationship between Robinho and the board at Manchester City is very good, although it's true that there are some problems with the coach, Roberto Mancini.”

After grabbing a brace in Brazil’s 5-1 thrashing of Tanzania, Robinho’s agents will be deep in discussions with his current club while Brazil embark on their World Cup campaign.

"We have a meeting with City on the 16th. I will travel to Manchester with Gilvan de Souza (Robinho's father) and we will look at the situation with Robinho.

"We know that City are looking for a club for Robinho. There will be no quotes (from Robinho, at the moment).

"Robinho is focused on winning the World Cup and fighting for the Copa do Brasil (with Santos),” he said.