The 10 most overhyped footballers of all time

#9 – Robinho

Despite the hype, Robinho was not the new Pele

When flashy winger Robinho emerged at Brazilian club Santos in the early 2000’s, he was so good that he was instantly labelled as the “new Pele”, a dangerous comparison given the fate of the last Brazilian player to be given that label – winger Denilson, who had flamed out at Real Betis just a handful of years previously. But Robinho was ludicrously skilled, and surely he couldn’t fail to live up to the hype, could he?

The answer turned out to be yes, he could. He signed for Real Madrid in July 2005 and was expected to become their next Galactico, but despite some flashes of brilliance, he was largely inconsistent and never really fit in at the Bernabeu. A mega-money £32.5m move to the newly minted Manchester City followed, but Robinho couldn’t live up to the hype there either and was sent on loan back to Santos after just one season at Eastlands.

A move to Milan followed and Robinho performed decently, winning Serie A in 2010/11, but he never came anywhere close to fulfilling his potential. This week saw him move to Turkish side Sivasspor after a time in his native Brazil, but he’s also potentially in legal trouble, as he was convicted of rape by an Italian court in November 2017. He’s currently appealing the decision.