33-year-old Robinho (Robson de Souza) the former player of Manchester City along with five others have been found guilty of the crime which was supposed to have taken place in a Milan nightclub on January 22, 2013, where they allegedly supplied the victim with alcohol and gang-raped her.
Unsettled in the UK
The striker has played for several large clubs and is most famous for breaking the transfer record in the UK when Manchester City brought him from Real Madrid for £32.5 million. The player spent just two years at the club before The Brazilian born talent was said to become unsettled and saw him quickly sent out on loan in less than sixteen months.
Capped over 100 times by his home country
He went on to play for the Italian giant AC Milan in which he spent five years. This was also the club he was currently playing for at the time of the reported incident. Currently, he plays for Atlético Mineiro in his home country of Brazil. The player has been seen to have been capped over 100 times by his home country. He has also played for Santos and Guangzhou Evergrande.
Italian Law allows for him to lodge two appeals against the sentence imposed before he must serve time in prison. The appeal system in Italy is a long and laborious one and could take many years to traverse, with the sentence currently put on hold. If he loses, the married footballer will have his fate decided by the Brazilian Authorities whether they will, in fact, extradite the shamed star to Italy to serve his sentence.
Via his Instagram, Robinho’s legal team have advised that the player denies any involvement and he has already defended himself against the supposed crime, that was said to have occurred four years ago. They go on to say, ‘All legal steps are already being taken regarding the decision in the first instance’.
Tribunal ruled guilty
The player along with five other men was found guilty of sexually assaulting an Albanian woman at a tribunal, she has not been named. Robinho did not attend the tribunal which took place today and instead decided to issue his plea of "not guilty" via his lawyer.
The promising talent was once regarded as the next Pele, and compared to the likes of Neymar sees his football career likely to come crashing down at this shocking revelation and potential prison sentence which could see him imprisoned for up to nine years.
Manchester City Football Club are yet to comment on their former player’s alleged actions.
