Manchester City chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak admits their £32 million deal for Robinho was "crazy".

"We are not in this to just make up numbers," he said in a message to City fans.

"We are here to win and build a club that is going to compete and be in a position to win trophies. There's no question of that and what we do this summer will set the tone of that very clearly."

Al Mubarak said: "Robinho was a statement of intent from owner Sheikh Mansour. He bought the club and bought in a top-notch player that Chelsea were on the verge of signing.

"It was crazy, put it that way. He was not metres away, I would say inches away from signing for Chelsea and that arrangement with Robinho was a huge coup for us."

Speaking at his HQ in Abu Dhabi, al Mubarak said: "That was a key signing for many reasons. First, Sheikh Mansour comes in. He's the new owner, but for the fans his intentions may not have been clear.

"People don't know whether City is going to remain a mid-table club, is it going to drift to the bottom or are we going to compete for the Premier League?

"The other question for people was that even with considerable financial commitment, can Manchester City attract a top-tier player?"