Former Manchester City and Real Madrid striker Robinho has been found guilty of sexual assault in a disco in Milan in 2013.
The Brazilian, who was playing for AC Milan at the time of the incident, has been lining for Atletico Mineiro back home since leaving Guangzhou Evergrande but is now facing prison time in Italy pending appeal.
Gazzetta Dello Sport revealed that the sentence relates to the group sexual assault of a 22-year-old woman from Albania which was carried out by the Brazilian soccer star and five other men on January 22, 2013.
A tribunal was held in Milan this evening where Robinho and five associates were found guilty of what directly translates as 'group sexual assault'.
Due to the Italian justice system, Robinho will have several opportunities to appeal his sentence before facing jail-time, so while 9 years has been determined by the tribunal, he will not serve any time until the appeals process is concluded.
Robinho, or Robson de Souza, was tipped as a once-in-a-generation player when he emerged as a teenager at Santos and was quickly snapped up by Real Madrid, before eventually signing for Manchester City where he faced allegations of rape in 2009, but the charges were ultimately dropped and he was cleared.
We'll keep you updated with this case as we learn more.
