I’m not one to defend a character like Robinho, and especially where he plays now, but how is he different, or even not better, from those active players who suddenly move to the Middle East for no reason? Oh wait there is a reason: to packet more money.

I’m excluding Henrik Larsson’s ex-strike partner Razak Omotoyossi from this – as a devout Muslim, he felt compelled to move to Al-Nasr to be closer to his religion, geographically and spiritually.

But when you have players like Christian Wilhelmsson, Lomana LuaLua and Rafael Sobis moving there, in the peak of their playing years, and still established internationals, it begs belief. You need to prove yourself in the major European leagues to get a better salary. Don’t care if you can double that by playing just a few toasty games down in the desert lands, the pride of a footballer should be intact, be paid for what you can bring to your club.

I can’t help but fear for the game with players like this – soon everyone would want to move to Al-City.