A Brazilian court has ruled that former Real Madrid and Manchester City player Robinho must serve nine-year imprisonment in Brazil for a rape conviction in Italy. 

In 2017, the 40-year-old was found guilty by an Italian court to be part of a group that raped an Albanian woman, who was 22-year-old at the time while Robinho was playing for AC Milan.

However, his fate was not sealed until 2022 when Italy’s highest court upheld his sentence but had returned to his native country of Brazil, which does not extradite its nationals by the time the ruling was made.

Authorities in Italy immediately issued an international warrant for his arrest. 

They have tried every diplomatic way to get Robinho to serve his sentence including doing the terms in his home country.

And on Wednesday, Judges in Brasilia ruled that the former player, who has 100 caps for the Brazil national team, must serve the nine-year prison sentence in Brazil following a request from Italy.

Meanwhile, Robinho has always maintained his innocence, stating that the sex was “consensual.”

The BBC citing his lawyers said he will remain free pending a possible appeal against the ruling.