Robinho (40, Brazil), once a top star in Real Madrid and a striker who symbolizes Manchester City’s Mansour era, is going to prison.
Robinho was sentenced to nine years in prison in Italy and had to serve a prison term in Brazil for his participation in the 2013 mass sexual assault during his time in AC Milan. It was admitted that Robinho raped an Albanian woman with his friend Hicciardo Falco at a nightclub in Milan, Italy at the time.
He is currently staying in his home country of Brazil. However, he has avoided imprisonment in Italy because there is no extradition treaty signed between Brazil and Italy. The Italian authorities have requested that he be extradited by February 2023, but Brazil has not allowed its citizens to be extradited to other countries.
In February, the Italian government requested the Brazilian government to execute the conviction against him, and the Brazilian High Court also accepted the request on Wednesday. The Brazilian court judges voted 9 to 2 to approve the conviction. He can appeal to the Brazilian Supreme Court.
According to the article, Judge Francisco Falco said that Robinho should serve time in Brazil. He added that Robinho cannot help but be punished and that diplomatic friction between Brazil and Italy could arise if the sentence is not executed.
Currently, Robinho is living in Santos, a city outside Sao Paulo, Brazil. He handed over his passport to the Brazilian authorities in March last year and cannot go abroad.
Robinho, once recognized by Pele as his successor, signed a professional contract with Brazilian Santus in 2002 at the age of 18. After receiving attention upon debut, Robinho moved to Real Madrid in 2005.
The highly anticipated Robin Hood was recognized as a star by scoring 12 goals and nine assists in 51 matches in the first season. However, most of the matches under Fabio Capello were replaced in the next season, scoring eight goals and six assists in 43 matches.
After scoring 15 goals in 42 matches under Bernd Schuster in the 2007-2008 season, he made a surprise move to Manchester City in September 2008. Manchester City announced that the club had been taken over by Munjur Mansour, a former member of the United Arab Emirates, and the club immediately recruited Robinho.
The striker still stands as a symbol of Manchester City. His transfer fee was reportedly 32.5 million pounds (55.2 billion won) at the time, making him the most expensive player in the British soccer community.
However, he had difficulty adapting himself to the Premier League and moved to Santos, his hometown club, two years later. Eventually, he moved to AC Milan in 2010, and has played for Santos, Guangzhou Hengda (China), Kulubi Atlético de Janeiro (Brazil), Sivaspor, and Istanbul Basakshehir (Turkiye).
Robinho, who has scored 28 goals in 100 matches as a member of the Brazilian national team, returned to Santos in 2010 but was found guilty of sexual assault. He ended his career by announcing the suspension of his contract with Santos. He won La Liga title for two consecutive seasons with Real and helped AC Milan win Serie A title.
However, privacy issues have made it inevitable for him to end his life in a bad way. Robinho, who left a regret for his poor self-management, will likely have to walk into prison to avoid diplomatic friction between Brazil and Italy.