Robinho: I want to play for the Blues

The £30million-rated Brazilian has confirmed for the first time he wants out of the Bernabeu and would like to play for his fellow countryman Phil Scolari.

Chelsea have had two bids rejected for Robinho - the highest being £25.4m - and Peter Kenyon has flown to the Spanish capital in person to try and complete the deal.

The chief executive will now be heartened to learn that the 24-year-old wants to move to Stamford Bridge.

He said: "I don't want to be at Real Madrid for the rest of this season, I want to move to Chelsea.

"With all due respect to Madrid, its players and the Bernabeu fans I must admit that my head has been turned, not by the money but by the footballing project at Chelsea.

"I want to play in the Premier League and I must admit that Chelsea's offer, to me, is a very attractive one too. However, it's not about money and I've made that clear to Real Madrid."

Robinho insisted that a transfer to Chelsea could now help to make him the best player on the planet.

He added: "It's about pride, following a dream and about a challenge. I've set myself the goal of becoming the best player in the world and that's not going to be possible at Real Madrid, in my opinion.

"I've completed a footballing 'cycle' at Real Madrid after three years there, two Spanish titles and crucial goals scored for the club.

"That's why I specifically want the Real Madrid directors to realize that I'm determined to leave and why I ask them to reach an agreement with Chelsea.

"Thus far I've avoided speaking about this situation in the media to avoid causing the kind of row which dogged Cristiano Ronaldo all summer.

"But my head is already in England. That's why I need the Madrid directors to understand my personality.

"I'm a pro and I'll train and play 100 per cent for this club but I think it's better, for the moment, that Bernd Schuster does not select me for the team.

"I'll train to the maximum and I'll not refuse to play in this weekend's Supercup match against Valencia but now the fans know that I'm determined to join Chelsea I don't want them thinking, if I have a bad game, that I've done it deliberately."

Robinho could now join new signings Deco and Jose Bosingwa at the Blues and Scolari also said today Didier Drogba could be ready return against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge next weekend.

Scolari said today: "He is better than before. His knee is very well and our fitness coach is training with him every morning and every afternoon. Maybe he will play 30-45 minutes against Tottenham."