Former Manchester City and Real Madrid forward Robinho has been ordered by a Brazilian court to serve a nine-year prison sentence for his involvement in the 2013 gang rape of a 22-year-old Albanian woman. The Italian court had previously found him guilty in 2017, but as Brazil does not extradite its citizens, he has been living freely in his home country.
Despite the ruling, Robinho will remain out of prison while a possible appeal is considered. The 40-year-old, who has 100 caps for Brazil, was playing for AC Milan at the time of the crime. He lost an appeal in 2020 and the Italian Supreme Court upheld his sentence in 2022, leading to an international arrest warrant being issued.
Robinho, who also played for Manchester City and Guangzhou Evergrande, has maintained that the sexual encounter was consensual. He moved to City in 2008 for a then-British record fee and went on to win two La Liga titles with Real Madrid. He later returned to Brazil to play for Atletico Mineiro.
