Former Manchester City player Robinho is serving a nine-year sentence in Brazil’s famous ‘celebrity prison’ after being found guilty of raping a woman in 2013.
Disgraced former footballer Robinho has denied claims he enjoys special privileges in prison as “lies”. The 41-year-old former Brazil international was convicted of rape by an Italian court in 2017 and is currently serving a nine-year sentence.
After repeated appeals and attempts by Italian courts to extradite Robinho, who continues to maintain his innocence, he was found guilty of involvement in the gang rape of a woman in a Milan nightclub in 2013. The former Manchester City winger has just completed a long prison sentence in Brazil in March 2024.
The father of three is being held at the Dr. José Augusto Cesar Salgado Prison in São Paulo state, more commonly known as P2 Tremembe. The facility, nicknamed “Brazil’s Celebrity Prison,” houses 430 inmates in cells varying in size from 9 square meters to 15 square meters, with each cell capable of holding up to six people.
Robinho recently reportedly requested to be transferred to prison, but his request was rejected by a Brazilian court. Now, the Taubate Community Council, a non-profit organization set up by Judge Sueli Zereik to support the judiciary, has released a video refuting claims that Robinho is receiving preferential treatment or has mental health problems.
Robinho said: “I have never received any favors. The visits are on Saturdays or Sundays. When my wife does not come alone, she brings the children. The visits are the same, everyone is treated equally. The visits are the same.”
read more: Robinho’s one year in prison – work in prison, starting a new company, visiting familyread more: “Despite my long-standing loyalty, I was given the boot by Man City but I wasn’t particularly welcomed.”
“My diet, my sleep schedule, everything is the same as any other inmate. I’ve never eaten anything different, I’ve never been treated differently. During work time, I do everything the other inmates do. If we want to play soccer, we’re allowed on Sundays when we don’t have to work.”
“There are lies being spread that I am a prison leader or that I have mental problems, but I have never been like that. Despite how difficult it is to be in prison, thank God, I didn’t have to take any medication. But thank God, I always stay sane and do everything that every other inmate does,” he added.
The former Real Madrid forward explained that the purpose of Tremembe prison is to re-educate people who have made mistakes and reintegrate them back into society. “I’ve never had a leadership role here or anywhere else. Here, as I said, the guards are in charge and we prisoners just follow.”
“I’m no different than I was as a soccer player. Quite the opposite. I’ve been here for a year and a half and I’ve never had any kind of altercation, even in the soccer field where we have games here.”
The prison has housed politicians such as Luis Estebao, celebrities such as Antonio Marcos Pimenta das Neves, and notorious murderers such as Alexandre Nardoni, who was convicted of rape, kidnapping, and murder, Cristian Clavinhos (von Richthofen’s murderer), Roger Abdelmasi, and Lindenberg Alves.
Robinho became a Manchester City player in September 2008. At that time, Emirati Sheikh Mansour bought the Brazilian star for £32.5 million. Already a big name at Real Madrid, Robinho’s arrival at City was a landmark moment for the club, marking the club’s first major signing of the new era, as he was one of the world’s top talents even before his move to the Santiago Bernabéu in 2005.
The move marked the beginning of City’s plans to attract high-profile players and build a project to surpass Manchester United in the coming years. Robinho, then 24, spent a year and a half at City.
He made an immediate impact, scoring 15 goals and assisting a further nine goals in his debut season under Mark Hughes. However, his early promise faded and Robinho was allowed to leave on loan after less than two years at the club, eventually joining AC Milan permanently at the end of the 2009–10 season.
He has since played in China, Turkey and Brazil, before becoming his last official club in 2020 with Santos, where he played as a boy. He ended his career with 100 appearances for Brazil, scoring 28 goals.
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