Robinho: Ex-Manchester City star loses appeal to shorten nine-year prison sentence following rape conviction

Former Manchester City and AC Milan midfielder Robinho has lost his appeal to ease the length of his nine-year prison sentence after he was found guilty and convicted of rape.

Robinho, now at the age of 40, began serving his term behind bars in March of 2024 - despite this, the initial conviction took place in 2017. Extradition laws complicated matters, as he was initially found guilty in Italy. In 2023, he was finally subpoenaed and began his prison sentence the following year in Brazil.

The incident which led to Robinho’s conviction took place in 2013. He and five others were convicted of a gang rape of a 22 year old woman whom they found in a Milan nightclub.

A message from Robinho sent to a friend, which was intercepted by police, read: “I'm laughing because I couldn't care less, the woman was completely drunk, she has no idea what happened.”

When asked about Robinho’s time in prison, his lawyer, Mario Rosso Vale, said [via The Sun]: “Robinho is keeping his head down and quietly getting on with it... he is being an exemplary inmate and has had no issues with other prisoners.

“They even gave him some football boots, once he was integrated, to join in the games during recreation time. He is keeping himself occupied. He has signed up for a basic electronics course learning how to repair TVs and radios. He has to do 600 hours of remote learning to qualify in this area.”

During his active playing career, Robinho played for clubs such as Real Madrid, AC Milan and Manchester City - his final club, Santos, was also the team where he made his start in professional football. He also won a total of 100 caps for his native Brazil, netting 28 goals on the international stage along the way.