Robinho (Former footballer) detained in Brazil for Rape Case

Robinho, a former football player for Real Madrid and Manchester City, was taken into custody on Thursday by an Italian court for participating in the gang rape of an Albanian woman who was celebrating her 23rd birthday at a Milan nightclub four years prior.

Robinho started his career in 2002 at Santos, a team that Brazilian legend Pele helped make famous. He was hailed as the next great generation of Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho.

He joined David Beckham, Ronaldo, and Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid in 2005.

After that, he played for Milan for four years until 2014 and Manchester City from 2008 to 2010.

He was briefly arrested in England in 2009 on suspicion of sexually assaulting a young woman, but the charges were later dropped following an investigation.

His career ended abruptly when the club suspended his attempt to return to Santos in 2020 due to pressure from sponsors and fans.

Brazil’s international sentence was upheld by Italy’s highest court in 2022 after he lost an appeal in 2020, and Italian prosecutors then issued an international arrest warrant for him.

However, Italy requested that Robinho be forced to serve his sentence in his native country because Brazil does not extradite its citizens.

On Wednesday, a Brazilian court made the decision, and on Thursday, court president Maria Thereza de Assis Moura signed a document authorizing the issuance of an arrest warrant for Robinho.

The Federal Police officer informed journalists that Robinho would be transferred to a prison in Tremembe, which is located approximately 150 kilometers (95 miles) southeast of Sao Paulo, the largest city in the country.

His attorneys had petitioned the Supreme Court to grant him a stay of execution while they contested the most recent ruling.

In an interview that aired on Sunday, the football player—who maintains his innocence—told the Brazilian TV Record that “the sex had been consenting and charged racism in the Italian legal system“.

The young woman was allegedly forced to drink by Robinho and his co-accused to the point of rendering her unconscious and unable to resist, after which they engaged in sexual relations several times in a row with her.