Ex-Manchester City star Robinho told he must serve nine-year sentence after conviction over gang rape

Former Manchester City star Robinho should serve a nine-year jail sentence for rape in Brazil, the county's Supreme Court has ruled. The former Blues forward, now 40, was one of six men convicted of gang-raping a woman in an Italian nightclub back in January 2013.

He was found guilty in an Italian court November 2017. The conviction was confirmed by an appeals court in 2020 and validated by Italy’s supreme court in 202 He has made several unsuccessful attempts to appeal the decision over the years.

The ex-player, who also starred for Real Madrid and AC Milan, has spent the last seven years in his native Brazil. Italy previously issued an international arrest warrant but Robinho has remained a free man as Brazil does not extradite its citizens.

Italy argued last November that Robinho should serve the nine-year sentence handed down to him by the Italian court in his home country. Brazil, on the other hand, had previously said any jail time should take place in Italy before the recent vote.

However, the country's Superior Court of Justice (BSCJ) in the capital Brasilia have now reviewed the request from Italy, with nine of the 15 ministers voting in favour., the Mirror reports.

The vote was to decide whether or not Robinho should serve the jail sentence, rather than a method to judge whether or not the former Santos and AC Milan star was guilty or not. Italian law dictates that his sentence will not officially start until appeal processes have been completed.

According to the BBC, the footballer told a Brazilian network on Sunday the sex had been 'consensual.' They say he will remain free pending a potential appeal.

Robinho, whose full name is Robson de Souza, lives in Santos, just outside Sao Paulo. He relinquished his