Former Manchester City and Real Madrid forward, Robinho has reportedly been ordered by a court to serve his nine-year rape sentence in his native country, Brazil.
In 2017, an Italian court found 40-year-old Robinho guilty of participating in the gang rape of a 22-year-old Albanian woman. The Brazilian committed the crime in 2013.
The player resides in Brazil, a country that does not extradite its citizens.
But in a decision on Wednesday, judges in Brasilia decided he should serve his time back home.
He is free to continue considering an appeal of the decision.
At the time of the crime, the former Brazil international was playing for AC Milan.
After being found guilty, he lost an appeal in 2020, and in 2022, the appellate court in Italy upheld his sentence.
He has an international arrest warrant issued for him by Italian prosecutors.
According to Evening Standard, the footballer, who earned 100 caps for Brazil and spent two years with Manchester City, said the sex had been “consensual” to a Brazilian broadcaster on Sunday.
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At Real Madrid, Robinho spent four seasons winning two La Liga titles. In 2008, he signed a contract with City for a then-record British fee of £32.5 million.
After that, he played for five seasons with AC Milan before joining Guangzhou Evergrande in China and later joining Atletico Mineiro in his home country of Brazil.
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