Blues To Table £25m For Robinho - Report

Madrid rejected an initial offer thought to be in the region of €25 million, roughly what they paid to bring the Brazilian from Santos in 2005.

However, despite several declarations from club officials that the 24-year-old is happy at the club and will be staying, his agent Wagner Ribeiro has persistently fuelled talk of an exit and the player himself has admitted to having made contact with Chelsea, but nothing more.

The forward first became unsettled when his name was mentioned as part of a swap deal to bring Cristiano Ronaldo to the Santiago Bernabeu. Robinho is thought to have taken this as an insult, which was made worse by the club's refusal to let him travel to the Olympics after he picked up a minor injury.

Cristiano Ronaldo clarified his future last week, confirming that despite harbouring a desire to move to Madrid, he will be staying at Manchester United this season, at least. The very notion of Madrid letting go of Robinho is now unthinkable, though the club have contended all along that nobody would be leaving in an exchange deal for Ronaldo, with Wesley Sneijder and Sergio Ramos also having been mentioned as potential makeweights for a mammoth transfer.

The Brazilian is still angling for a new contract so that he may have parity with the top earner of the club, which is suspected to be the lingering reason behind his agent's ongoing enthusiasm to seal a move to Chelsea.

The Daily Star reports that, despite a five-year deal on the table from Madrid, the fleet-footed forward is still holding out for an exit before the transfer window ends on August 31. Chelsea are ready to improve their previous offer and table a bid in the region of £25 million, or more likely equivalent to €30 million.