Former Manchester City forward Robinho has been sentenced to nine years in prison for sexual assault, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
Robinho was found guilty of assaulting a 22-year-old woman at a nightclub in Milan in 2013, when he played for AC Milan. Five other men have also been found guilty of the offence.
The 33-year-old, who has won 100 caps for Brazil, has denied the charges and now has the right to appeal.
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A statement on Robinho’s Instagram page on Thursday night said that he had “already defended himself against the charges, maintaining that he played no part in the incident”.
Robinho became the most expensive player in British football when he joined Manchester City from Real Madrid for £32.5m in 2008.
However, he struggled to adapt to the Premier League and was sold to AC Milan for just £15m two years later after a loan spell at his hometown club Santos.
Robinho spent four seasons at the San Siro, during which the offence took place, before moving to Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande in 2015.
He spent just one season in China before moving back to Brazil with Atletico Mineiro in 2016.
