Genoa Transfer Market: Outbidding the Competition for the Son of a Legend Who Mancini Wants for the National Team

Genoa continues to look to the future and has found its new gem in Brazil: Robinho Jr., born in 2007, is following in his father’s footsteps (his father, Robinho, played for Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Milan, among others) and was raised in the Santos youth academy. The Grifone, as reported by ‘Il Secolo XIX’, is finalizing the details with Santos after weeks of monitoring and a decisive push in recent days: Robinho Jr. will arrive in Italy—barring any last-minute surprises—on a loan with an option to buy, set at 8 million.

Bringing the young forward to Italy was no simple task: several European clubs had expressed interest in Robinho Jr., drawn by his ability to play wide, take on defenders, and create numerical advantages. Genoa, however, beat everyone to the punch, backed by a clear technical vision and a commitment to investing in promising young players.

Incidentally, the young player is in the process of obtaining Italian citizenship, and this has already piqued the interest of Roberto Mancini, who considers him a prospect to keep an eye on for the Italian national teams. In Genoa, however, his development will be gradual: an initial phase between Criscito’s Primavera team and De Rossi’s first team—as was the case with Doumbia and Marcelo Vaz—with the goal of helping him grow without pressure.

Born Robson Guglielmetti de Souza, Robinho Jr. was born on December 17, 2007, in São Paulo, Brazil, at a time when his father was playing for Real Madrid. He signed his first professional contract in August 2024 but made his debut nearly a year later, on July 17, 2025, in Santos’s 1-0 victory over Flamengo in one of the many derbies between clubs from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.