How it all unravelled for ‘new Pele’ Robinho – from joining wrong Manchester club to languishing in Brazil jail

ROBINHO was hailed from an aboriginal property arsenic the caller Pele - adjacent by the antheral himself.

But alternatively of becoming different Brazilian shot legend, Robinho is present 1 of the game’s astir notorious criminals.

At the property of 12, helium joined Pele’s aged nine Santos. 

At 24, helium became the astir costly subordinate successful English shot past erstwhile helium joined Manchester City for £32.5million arsenic the marquee signing of their caller Abu Dhabi owners.

But astatine 41, helium is serving a nine-year condemnation for pack rape.

An Italian tribunal heard successful 2017 however Robinho and 5 friends attacked a woman successful a Milan nightclub successful 2013.

After years of ineligible arguments, helium yet entered Dr Jose Augusto Cesar Salgado P2 prison successful Tremembe, Sao Paulo state, successful March 2024.

In the instauration nicknamed ‘the situation of the famous’, the victor of league titles successful 5 antithetic countries has high-profile murderers for company.

And wrong football, helium is the eventual pariah, adjacent successful Brazil.

When Santos tried to bring him backmost for a 4th spell successful 2020, determination was nationalist outcry and a large sponsor chopped ties with the club.

Santos and Robinho cancelled the five-month woody and a vocation that had promised truthful overmuch ended successful infamy.

Pele, who aboriginal died successful 2022, did not connection his thoughts connected this occasion.

But helium had plentifulness to accidental astir the young Robinho.

When Pele saw Robinho astatine 15, 3 years aft the young antheral had joined his erstwhile club, the legendary No10 said the winger reminded him of himself.

Similar glory soon followed, arsenic Robinho helped Santos triumph the Brazilian title successful 2002 and 2004.

A horrible effect of his increasing personage was the kidnap of his parent Marina de Silva Souza successful November 2004. 

She was returned unharmed aft six weeks successful captivity pursuing the outgo of a ransom.

And her lad regained capable signifier to seal a determination to Real Madrid successful the summertime of 2005.

He went with the blessing of Pele, who said: “He is already the champion subordinate successful Brazil and helium has each the qualities needed to beryllium 1 of the champion successful the world."

Robinho, similar the remainder of the Galacticos, did not rather deed the heights that ambitious president Florentino Perez had hoped.

Yet implicit his 3 seasons, which brought 2 LaLiga crowns, helium was the 3rd highest scorer down Raul and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

But helium was unhappy with his attraction by the Bernabeu bosses, who stopped him going to the Olympics and openly courted Cristiano Ronaldo.

Robinho wanted out. But helium did not extremity up wherever helium thought helium would.

His transportation to Manchester City connected deadline time successful September 2008, hours aft Sheikh Mansour completed his takeover, was not lone 1 of the astir costly woody involving a British nine - it besides remains 1 of the astir bizarre.

Chelsea and their CEO Peter Kenyon were convinced they would reunite Robinho with erstwhile Brazil brag Luiz Felipe Scolari, their caller manager.

So convinced that the Blues’ website started offering fans the accidental to pre-order shirts with his sanction on.

Instead, Robinho recovered himself being unveiled astatine the Etihad - overmuch to his ain confusion, it seemed.

Robinho said: “On the past day, Chelsea made a large connection and I accepted."

A newsman replied: "You mean Manchester, right?". "Yeah, Manchester, sorry!" answered Robinho.

He besides responded to disapproval of the determination by Pele, who said the subordinate had been severely advised.

Robinho said: “I judge Pele’s disapproval arsenic helium is the king of football, but if helium had been me, helium would person done the same.

“Real did not privation to clasp me. They adjacent utilized maine arsenic a imaginable speech to motion Cristiano Ronaldo. But arsenic that dialog fell through, they wanted to clasp maine then.”

One communicative - oregon municipality story - says that Robinho thought helium was signing for Manchester United.

That has ne'er been proved, but the-then City brag Mark Hughes helped substance the rumours erstwhile interviewed years aboriginal astir the deal.

Hughes said: “It was a brainsick day, determination were bids going retired for Lionel Messi and each sorts! 

“We yet managed to get Robinho implicit the enactment which was a hellhole of a statement, and the remainder is history. 

“There’s astir apt a atom of information successful the rumour that Robinho thought helium was really signing for Manchester United. 

“He surely didn’t recognise maine erstwhile helium turned up, helium was astir apt expecting to spot Sir Alex Ferguson astatine the airport! 

“He was astir apt a spot disappointed to accidental the least.”

Robinho's recollection

Robinho aboriginal recalled: “My archetypal extremity was to spell to Chelsea arsenic it was the lone nine to person made a ceremonial offer. 

“But Real did not similar Chelsea shirts with my sanction connected being sold earlier sorting retired the negotiations.

“Also, they did not scope the worth Real demanded truthful past Manchester City came successful astatine the past infinitesimal to motion me.”

Whatever the truth, Robinho started his City vocation well, scoring a good escaped footwear connected his debut against, of each teams, Chelsea.

But a 3-1 decision by the Premier League’s archetypal moneybags nine underlined however acold City had to go.

And Robinho would not beryllium determination to spot the glory years arsenic helium and chap Brazilian signings Jo and Elano failed to impress.

Mark Bowen, Hughes’ assistant, reflected: “What we recovered was, for each his talent, Robinho - and possibly Elano astatine the time, and Jo - yes they were sticking unneurotic but they weren't putting the displacement in. 

“When the going got pugnacious successful definite games, you could astir spot Robinho reasoning "What americium I doing here? I've travel from Real Madrid'.

"That could origin problems, sometimes connected the grooming crushed and matchdays successful the dressing rooms. 

“They wanted to spot that committedness of putting the effort in."

Robinho returned to Santos connected indebtedness successful aboriginal 2010 and helped them triumph different Brazilian title.

But helium was incapable to unafraid a imperishable woody to spell location and was alternatively sold to AC Milan for £15m.

With 14 goals successful his archetypal season, Robinho was a cardinal fig successful Milan’s Scudetto triumph and helium scored 11 much arsenic they finished runners-up the pursuing year.

Injuries took their toll, however, and successful 2013, the twelvemonth of the rape, helium astir returned to Santos doubly earlier agreeing a caller San Siro woody connected a little salary.

More wounded problems hindered Robinho again and successful the summertime of 2014 helium made his 2nd instrumentality to Santos.

That reunion lasted conscionable a year, lone for different to appear, arsenic the winger joined the endowment exodus to the mega-rich Chinese Super League to play nether Scolari astatine Guangzhou Evergrande.

Robinho scored 3 times successful 10 league games successful 2015 arsenic helium claimed a rubric successful a 4th antithetic country.

Then it was backmost to Brazil again, this clip with Atletico Mineiro. In the 2nd of his 2 seasons there, helium received a one-off callback to the Brazil squad.

He made his 100th and last quality for his state successful January 2017 successful a affable against Colombia.

Brazil picked a radical of wholly home-based players for the lucifer that was staged to rise wealth for Chapecoense, the Brazilian nine that had mislaid 19 players erstwhile their level crashed connected the mode to the Copa Sudamericana last successful Colombia.

Robinho was inactive lone 33 and seemed to summation a caller lease of beingness erstwhile helium moved to Turkey.

After a promising play and a fractional astatine Sivasspor, helium joined newly-rich Istanbul Basaksehir and helped springiness them bragging rights implicit their 3 large metropolis rivals arsenic they lifted their archetypal Turkish rubric successful 2019-20.

But Robinho could not bask that 5th league crown of his vocation for long.

Santos announced his latest instrumentality connected October 10, 2020. But the backlash was swift.

Brazilian media published transcripts of dependable and different messages that formed portion of the 2017 proceedings successful Milan astatine which Robinho was recovered blameworthy of raping the woman.

In 1 message, Robinho said: “I’m laughing due to the fact that I couldn’t attraction less, the pistillate was wholly drunk, she has nary thought what happened.”

In different chat Robinho insisted helium did not person enactment with the victim.

His person replied: “I saw you erstwhile you enactment your penis wrong her mouth.”

Robinho’s effect was: “That doesn’t mean having sex.”

Orthopride, a starring dental wellness steadfast successful Brazil, cancelled its garment sponsorship successful protestation astatine Robinho returning to Santos.

Chief operating serviceman Richard Adam said: “We person tremendous respect for Santos' history. But astatine this point, we person decided to terminate the sponsorship contract.

“Our assemblage is mostly pistillate and, retired of respect for the women who bargain our products, we had to marque that decision.

“We privation to marque it wide that we were not antecedently informed astir the signing of Robinho, we were taken by astonishment by the quality implicit the weekend.”

Robinho and Santos yet work the country and cancelled the contract, leaving him to ore connected his defence.

The subordinate ever protested his innocence and claimed his intersexual interaction with the pistillate successful 2013 was consensual.

But aboriginal successful 2020, the Milan Court of Appeals upheld Robinho’s conviction and sentence, uncovering that helium had "belittled" and "brutally humiliated" the unfortunate and misled investigators with a mendacious relationship of what happened.

In January 2022, Italy’s Supreme Court of Cessation besides confirmed the archetypal trial’s findings and a period aboriginal an planetary apprehension warrant was issued for Robinho.

Brazil does not extradite its citizens to overseas jurisdictions and refused to manus implicit Robinho and his person Ricardo Falco, who had besides been recovered blameworthy of the rape.

But successful 2023, Italy asked Brazil to marque them service their sentences successful Brazil nether a instrumentality that had been introduced successful 2017.

On March 20, 2024, the Brazilian authorities agreed to enforce the nine-year condemnation connected Robinho. Two days later, helium was arrested and jailed - justness was yet served, 11 years aft the crime.

Robinho is present a antithetic benignant of celebrity.

Some reports recognition him with helping to acceptable up a controlled mentation of Tinder that allowed inmates successful his jailhouse to marque interaction with those successful a adjacent women’s prison. It is simply a distasteful and disturbing idea.

Among Robinho’s chap inmates are notorious murderers, including Lindemberg Alves, a antheral who kidnapped and changeable dormant 15-year-old erstwhile woman Eloa Cristina Pimentel successful 2008.

Despite that appalling crime, Alves was among the prisoners fto retired for 11 days implicit Christmas 2024, according to section reports.

But Robinho spent the festive play down bars.

Cells astatine the Dr Jose Augusto Cesar Salgado P2 situation are betwixt 8 metres and 12 metres squared. Up to six men cram into each one.

Robinho was erstwhile spoken of successful the aforesaid enactment arsenic Pele. After 1 of football’s astir shocking falls from grace, helium is present forced to stock the aerial with chap criminals.