Mark Hughes believes that the capture of Robinho for a British record fee of £34.2 million has underlined the ambition of Manchester City’s prospective new owners as they look to transform the club into challengers for the Premier League title.

City beat Chelsea to the signing of Robinho last night after outbidding the West London club and Hughes believes that the arrival of the Brazil forward, who has agreed a four-year contract worth £95,000 a week, heralds a new era in the history of the club.

“We’re obviously at a different stage of development than the clubs we’re going up against, but sometimes players look at different situations and say that’s one I want to follow and that’s what we’ll try to emphasise to people,” the manager said. “We’re a club going places and hopefully players will want to be part of it.”

Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment (ADUG), which is understood to be an investment vehicle for the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, the Gulf state, are expected to complete a £200 million takeover of City by the end of the week after Thaksin Shinawatra agreed to sell the club. And Hughes believes that, with such backing, City will be able to compete with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea.

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“I came to the club on the premise that I would be given resources to really compete,” he said. “Dr Thaksin was not able to do that with his situation \ but he has brought people to the table that will hopefully allow me to compete for the Premier League and in Europe. All the promises I was made when I left Blackburn have been fulfilled at this point.”

Although City also bid £32.5 million for Dimitar Berbatov, the Tottenham Hotspur forward, Hughes claimed that Robinho was the signing he wanted. “It’s a fantastic signing for us. If we want to go to the places we expect to and are going to compete against outstanding teams and clubs then we have to attract world-class players and that is what we have been able to do this evening.

“He’s exceptionally talented. He’s one of those players who can excite stadiums and who opposition players will fear. You only need to look at the clubs who coveted him and who he played for to know that. We’re delighted and looking forward to seeing him in a Manchester City shirt.”