Santos star Robinho slams Man City boss Mancini

Robinho has hit out at Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini.

Robinho is on-loan at Santos and has shown no intention of returning to City when his deal expires.

He said: "At City, when I was playing, I knew that at some point the substitution board would go up and I was going to come off because the manager didn't have trust in me. Then, you start to lose your confidence on the pitch."

Mancini had said he wanted Robinho to "write the history of the club" when he replaced Mark Hughes as manager in December but he quickly concluded that the most expensive player in English football, signed from Real Madrid for £32.5m, should be allowed to leave.

The Italian also publicly humiliated Robinho by bringing him on as a substitute after Roque Santa Cruz was injured nine minutes into the 2-0 defeat at Everton in January but then withdrawing him 16 minutes into the second half.

"I spoke to the manager after the game," Robinho said. "He admitted to me that he had made a mistake taking me off. It was the first time I have had to go through something like that in my career but I suppose there's always a first time. It wasn't a lack of respect, though. I just think it was a lack of ability on the part of the manager."