The dream of playing professional soccer overseas has always been on Robinho’s mind. After years bouncing around to several clubs in his native Brazil, the 24-year-old winger finally saw the opportunity he was looking for knock on his door last summer when Columbus Crew SC took notice of his performance and offered him a deal for the upcoming 2019 Major League Soccer season.
Robinho was coming off the best season of his career in 2018, scoring eight goals in 40 matches for Brazilian third division side Santa Cruz, when former Crew head coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter and former head of player recruitment Ricardo Moreira approached Ceará Sporting Club, the club that owned his rights, and secured his transfer, which was finally announced in January.