LONDON (AP) -Manchester United finally signed Dimitar Berbatov but was upstaged when Manchester City agreed to pay a British record transfer fee for Robinho on the final day of English football's summer transfer window.
City started Monday by announcing that it had agreed to an imminent takeover from a United Arab Emirates business group and for several hours looked as though it was about to spend some of its newfound wealth on Berbatov.
But although City made Tottenham an offer for the Bulgaria striker, City rounded off a remarkable day for the club by paying Real Madrid 32.5 million pounds (?40 million; US$58.5 million) to hijack Chelsea's move for Robinho.
United eventually clinched a deal for Berbatov for a club-record 30.75 million pounds (US$55.1 million; ?37.7 million), but it was City's move to pair Robinho up front with fellow Brazilian striker Jo that was one of the most audacious in English Premier League history.
Chelsea was so sure of signing the player that it had angered Madrid last week by briefly offering for sale shirts bearing his name. Madrid rejected Chelsea's initial ?32 million ($46.8 million) bid.
The 24-year-old Brazil forward had long looked set to join Chelsea and his former international manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, but City seems to have done fierce rival United a favor by stopping Robinho from joining the Blues.
City's improved financial status also suggests that it will compete from now on with the likes of super-rich Chelsea, which enjoyed a huge edge in recent years because of the backing of Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.
"I am absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to work with such an incredible talent like Robinho," City manager Mark Hughes said on the club's Web site. "I have said that in order to compete with the best teams in the Premier League we have to be in the market for players of this caliber, and Robinho is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world.
"This is a real statement of intent as to the ambitions of Manchester City Football Club."
Robinho won the Spanish league for the past two years with Madrid and has scored 11 times in 42 caps for Brazil.
Robinho was in Brazil on Monday for World Cup qualifiers, but City said he had signed a four-year contract. Spanish sports daily Marca said on its Web site that City will pay Robinho ?6 million ($8.8 million) per season - about three times what he reportedly earned at Madrid.
Hughes denied that his club's offer for Berbatov had been a ruse to distract other teams from the move for Robinho, saying that City's surprise offer had been genuine.
Reluctant to do business with United because of its unhappiness at the manner of the Premier League champion's pursuit of Berbatov, Tottenham accepted City's bid but eventually sold him when the Red Devils agreed to lend promising striker Fraizer Campbell for a year.
