An Italian court determined in 2017 that Robinho, 40, had participated in the 2013 gang rape of a 22-year-old Albanian woman.
Brazil, which does not extradite its citizens, is where he has been residing. On Wednesday, Brasilian judges decided, at Italy’s request, that he should serve out his term in Brazil.
Robinho To Serve Nine-Year Rape Sentence
Lawyers stated that he will stay free pending the possibility of an appeal against the decision.
At the time of the incident, the former Brazil international—who has 100 caps for his nation—was on the AC Milan team.
After being found guilty, he lost an appeal in 2020 before Italy’s highest court upheld his sentence in 2022.
Italian prosecutors then issued an international arrest warrant for him.
The footballer, who spent two years with Manchester City, told a Brazilian network on Sunday that the sex had been “consensual.”.
Robinho won two La Liga titles in four seasons at Real Madrid before joining City for a then-British record fee of £32.5 million on transfer deadline day in September 2008—also Sheikh Mansour’s first day as owner of the Premier League club.
After two seasons, he joined AC Milan, where he spent the next five years before moving to Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande and returning to Brazil with Atletico Mineiro