Robinho has denied the ongoing rape charge against him as the former Manchester City and Real Madrid star plead his side of the story regarding an incident at a Milan nightclub in 2013.
In 2017, the Brazilian forward was sentenced by an Italian court to nine years in prison for his involvement in the gang rape of a 22-year-old Albanian woman at a nightclub seven years ago.
Robinho, 36, denies the charges and has appealed the ruling. The case is continuing.
Robinho has denied rape accusations following a sentence in Italy for a nightclub attack
However, the rape charge has led boyhood club Santos to suspend the returning player’s contract, who rejoined the Brazilian club last week.
It came after a Santos sponsor made reference to the player’s ongoing rape case and cut its ties with the club.
Brazilian orthodontics franchise Orthopride ended their sponsorship ‘out of respect for women’ after the club announced Robinho’s signing.
And in an interview with Brazilian outlet UOL, Robinho has insisted that despite making ‘contact’ with his accuser, their interaction at the Sio Cafe was consensual, and that his only regret was cheating on his wife.
‘A girl approached me, we started to have contact with her consent and mine too… then I went home,’ he said.
Robinho’s contract at Santos has been suspended as appeals his conviction for rape in Italy
Robinho said that, after leaving, his friends stayed with the accuser and had consensual sex with her, before insisting that he cannot speak for them.
Key evidence that was used to convict the Brazilian were intercepted phone calls and messages between the footballer and those allegedly involved in the attack, in which Robinho allegedly said ‘the woman was completely drunk’.
The former City star’s lawyers, however, insist that the phone calls ‘have not been correctly translated into the Italian language’ by the justice system, while Robinho said the accuser was not drunk.
‘When she approached me, she wasn’t drunk, because she remembers my name, she remembers who I am. The person who drinks doesn’t remember anything. She remembers,’ he added.
The Brazilian was sentenced for gang rape in 2017 with a woman in a Milan nightclub in 2013
Robinho said his only regret was cheating on his wife of eleven years, Vivian (pictured)
Robinho said that his only regret was cheating on his wife, Vivian, who he has been married to since 2009 and has three children.
“I regret cheating on my wife. This is my regret. Regarding the phrases that came out, out of context and to sell the newspaper and magazine. Obviously I changed a lot over the last seven years, this happened in 2013 and I changed for the better.
‘The question is, what was the mistake I made? What was the crime I did? The mistake was not being faithful to my wife, I didn’t make any mistake of raping someone, of abusing some girl or go out with her without her consent,’ he said.
Robinho agreed to rejoin Santos on a vastly reduced salary of just £200-a-month following his release by Turkish club Istanbul Basaksehir.
But his return to the club caused controversy with shirt sponsor Orthopride cancelling their contract.
Robinho (right) left Turkish club Istanbul Basaksehir to rejoin his boyhood club but his contract was suspended after a sponsor cut ties with the Brazilian club
Chief operating officer Richard Adam told Globo Esporte: ‘We have enormous respect for Santos’ history. But at this point, we have decided to terminate the sponsorship contract.
‘Our audience is mostly female and, out of respect for the women who buy our products, we had to make that decision.
‘We want to make it clear that we were not previously informed about the signing of Robinho, we were taken by surprise by the news over the weekend.’
A Santos club statement read: ‘Santos and Robinho have by mutual agreement resolved to suspend the contract signed on 10 October so that the player can concentrate exclusively on his court defence in Italy.’
