The Brazil international had been widely expected to return to the club where he began his career for a third time, but Santos have now withdrawn from negotiations due to the financial demands of both the forward and his current club.

Even the €53million sale of Neymar to Barcelona has not enabled them to raise the cash required, with reports suggesting that the Sao Paulo outfit only received a fraction of that fee due to third-party ownership.

Santos had warned Robinho earlier this week that he would need to be more realistic about the financial package on offer if a move was to be finalised.

The club's vice-president, Odilio Rodrigues, told ESPN Brasil: "I hope he reduces his demands. We know he is an important asset at Milan, and (we) have the expectation that he will reduce (his demands) so that the whole operation becomes feasible."

However, that advice appears to have gone unheeded and a statement from the club has now confirmed that the deal is off.

It read: "Santos FC reports that (it) did not come to an agreement for the hiring of Robinho in this window.

"The club, player and AC Milan tried to reach the values and conditions that could allow the transfer, but even with the effort on all sides, it has not been possible to achieve the numbers.

"The sum of the payment of the Italian team and the athlete's wages is still far from the reality of Brazilian football."