A court in Brazil has ruled that Robinho, the former Manchester City and Real Madrid forward, must serve a nine-year prison sentence for rape in his native country.
In 2017, an Italian court found Robinho, aged 40, guilty of participating in the gang rape of a 22-year-old Albanian woman in 2013.
Currently residing in Brazil, which does not extradite its citizens, Robinho faced a recent ruling in Brasilia where judges determined he must serve his sentence in Brazil, as requested by Italy.
Lawyers mentioned he will remain free pending any potential appeal against this decision.
During the time of the crime, the former Brazilian international, who has earned 100 caps for his country, was playing for AC Milan.
Despite losing an appeal in 2020 and having his sentence upheld by Italy’s highest court in 2022, Robinho continued to reside in Brazil, where Italian prosecutors issued an international arrest warrant for him.
Robinho, who spent two seasons with Manchester City, asserted in an interview with a Brazilian network on Sunday that the sexual encounter was consensual.
His football career saw him win two La Liga titles during four seasons at Real Madrid before joining Manchester City in September 2008 for a then-British record fee of £32.5m on the same day Sheikh Mansour became the owner of the Premier League club.
After two seasons with City, Robinho moved to AC Milan for five years before playing for Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande and returning to Brazil with Atletico Mineiro.