Robinho flew in to England on Sunday night to face the wrath of furious Manchester City manager Mark Hughes.
Hughes will hold showdown talks with Robinho on Monday morning when City’s record £32.5million signing will be fined around £200,000 for walking out of the club’s training base in Tenerife last week without permission and flying home to Brazil.
The player has denied suggestions he left to celebrate his birthday, he was 25 on Sunday, and claims, instead, he had ‘an urgent personal issue’ to sort out.
Robinho
Manchester City forward Robinho arrives in Manchester Airport days after leaving the club's Tenrife training camp
But that is unlikely to convince disciplinarian Hughes, who will be less than impressed to see Sportsmail’s photo (above) of his star player breezing through Manchester Airport with a mountain of luggage.
However, being fined two weeks’ wages will not go down well with Robinho, who insists there was no secrecy surrounding his departure.
‘I did not run away and I did not hide,’ he said.
‘The club knew. I said goodbye to everyone before I went to the airport.
'They saw me with my suitcases, so how can I be fined?
'I don’t think that would be fair.
‘I did not go to Brazil to party but to sort out a personal problem. I would never have left if we’d had a game.
'I don’t understand the controversy this story has caused.’
The former Real Madrid striker is adamant his disappearance had nothing to do with City’s failure to clinch a £100m deal for his Brazil team-mate Kaka.
He said: ‘I only found out he hadn’t signed when I was halfway to Brazil.
'I tried to convince him to come but it is difficult to change Kaka’s mind.
'But it’s not the end of the world. I have a contract at City and I’m going to stay here.’