Tomorrow's superstar today

Wannabe Galáctico
However, until he is established at the Santiago Bernabéu, he will not be calling himself a 'galáctico'. "Despite all this excitement I prefer not to consider myself a 'galáctico' until I prove myself in the team," he told uefa.com. "I will fight for a place and try to earn that title. I am really looking forward to my time in Europe. I haven't come to spend just one season at Real, that's for sure. I want to stay for a long time and win a lot of trophies. I intend to be the best player in the world within the next four years and to match all the expectations surrounding me."

Competitive position
With another summer signing, Julio Baptista, having joined Robinho, Raúl González and Ronaldo in battling for a striking slot in Vanderlei Luxemburgo's side, the pressure is on, but the former Santos FC star believes he knows what to expect from his first term in Europe. "Madrid have not won a major trophy for two seasons, so I know the fans will be expecting a lot from the players," said Robinho. "I am ready for that pressure because at Santos things were not that different even after we had won two Brazilian league titles. I know how to handle pressure.

Real trust
"For any player who is in the national team we face pressure even in practice sessions. I see it as a dream to wear Real Madrid's shirt and I'd rather enjoy it, instead of fearing the challenge. The club have put a lot of trust in me and I am looking forward to repaying it as soon as possible."

Brazilian colleagues
The 21-year-old will have a strong Brazilian support network in Madrid, with coach Luxemburgo and his staff, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Julio Baptista all hailing from the South American country. Robinho is hoping his new colleagues can help ease him into his new life in Spain. "Fortunately, Spanish does not seem to be a difficult language to learn and Ronaldo has told me Madrid is a fantastic city to live in too," he said. "I really can't wait to start discovering the city and I am really anxious to get to know my team-mates.

Good humour
"I am a lad who loves a joke, but maybe it might be wise to wait a bit until I start taking the mickey out of my team-mates, especially because I am only a little fellow," he added. "However, once I am settled in, Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham and the rest won't escape my good humour!"

Harsh accusations
Nonetheless, Robinho's sense of humour was stretched to breaking point after journalists in Brazil accused him of joining Madrid purely for the wages on offer. "That is not true at all," he insisted. "The truth is that I had better financial offers from other European clubs such as [FC] Barcelona, Arsenal [FC] and [FC] Internazionale Milano. I could have made more money by going elsewhere.

'Sweet passes'
"But Real Madrid are not just the best club of all time, they also have such a great current squad," he continued. "It will be a huge privilege to play alongside footballers like Zidane, Ronaldo and Beckham every week. I am already dreaming of those sweet passes from Zidane."