The Brazilian, whose two goals helped AC Milan to a 4-0 drubbing of Arsenal in a Champions League last 16 first leg on Wednesday, has not ended up on the scrapheap as he might have feared when he fell out of favour at City and returned to Brazil to play on loan for Santos.
He need only look at compatriot Adriano, once the so-called "Emperor" whose career has been in freefall since the 2006 World Cup and is now a bit-part player at Corinthians, to see what might have happened.
"I'm happy for Robinho," said Milan strike partner Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who set up both his goals either side of halftime. "The important thing is that he continues playing and scoring.
"Now the coach has more options on the pitch. When you have a few negative results, you get the right kind of anger needed to do better."
It is an odd turnaround for a player who was likened to Pele when he burst onto the scene with Santos as an 18-year-old and was quickly dubbed "the King of the Stepovers."
The 'new Pele' label is never easy to live up to but it appeared more justified in Robinho's case, partly because he was raised at Pele's former club Santos and partly because Pele himself predicted great things for the player.
He left after three seasons, publicly stating he wanted to go to Chelsea, but instead ended up at Manchester City as one of English football's most expensive signings. Again, there were plenty goals but his commitment was often questioned and he never came close to living up to the hype.
