Former Manchester City and Real Madrid footballer Robinho has reportedly failed in his latest bid to reduce his prison sentence.
He has already served the first six months of a nine-year sentence for his role in a gang rape in Italy more than a decade ago, when he was still playing for AC Milan.
Robinho, whose real name is Robson de Souza, was one of six men found guilty of attacking an Albanian woman in an Italian nightclub in January 2013.
In 2017 he was found guilty in Italy, but several appeals resulted in his sentence being postponed.
The 40-year-old was eventually sentenced to prison in Brazil in March, following a landmark ruling by the country’s top court. Italian prosecutors had argued that he should serve his sentence in his home country, following a failed attempt to extradite him.
Former Man City striker Robinho, 40, is currently in custody in his native Brazil
He is serving a nine-year prison sentence after being convicted of gang rape during an AC Milan match
Robinho is one of Brazil’s richest prisoners and is currently incarcerated in Penitentiary II of Tremembe. This prison is much less overcrowded than many other prisons in the country and has even been called a “celebrity prison.”
The former football star, who was once the most expensive signing for an English club after moving to City from Madrid for £32.5million in 2008, has a team of lawyers trying to reduce his sentence.
According to Portal Leo DiasRobinho’s lawyers have failed – for the second time since his conviction – to have his crime reclassified from “heinous” to “ordinary”.
In Brazil, “heinous” crimes are not subject to appeal. Robinho’s lawyers have argued that the rape should be considered “ordinary” because that is how it is categorized in Italy, where the crime took place.
Robinho’s football career ended in 2020. But The sun reported last month that he had accepted a new job at the prison.
The report said he learned new skills in basic electronics, including repairing televisions and radios, as part of a program run by Brazil’s Universal Institute to prepare prisoners for life after release.
Robinho was put in this police car after his arrest in the coastal city of Santos
Robinho played 100 international matches for Brazil during his active football career, scoring 28 goals.
Lawyer Mario Rosso Vale said: ‘Robinho is keeping a low profile and going about his life quietly… he is behaving as a model prisoner and has no problems with other prisoners.
‘They even gave him football boots once he was integrated so he could participate in the games during recreation time.
“He’s keeping himself busy. He’s enrolled in a basic electronics course to learn how to repair TVs and radios. He has to complete 600 hours of distance learning to qualify in this field.”