Ex-Brazil star Robinho 'should serve nine-year prison sentence for rape in his homeland' national authorities claim, insisting they 'must uphold conviction of Italian authorities' - with former Man City forward guilty of crime when he played for AC Milan

Former soccer star Robinho came a step nearer to having to serve his nine-year jail sentence for rape in Brazil last night.

Last November Italian authorities asked Brazilian officials to make the former Real Madrid, AC Milan and Manchester City star do his prison time in his homeland after his extradition was ruled out for legal reasons.

Earlier on Tuesday, public prosecutors in Brazil said they thought the footballer could and should be jailed there.

They told the country's High Court of Justice it was in line with national legislation and would serve the twin purposes of demonstrating the country's efforts in combating crime and judicial cooperation.

The possibility that Robinho will do prison time in Italy following his 2017 conviction for sexual assault in a Milan nightclub and the failure of his appeals against his nine year sentence, has been ruled out because Brazil doesn't extradite its citizens sentenced abroad.

Local reports said Brazil's Public Prosecutor's Office had indicated in its communication with the High Court of Justice that a failure to heed the Italian request risked allowing Robinho to flout the law with impunity.

The ex-footballer was one of a group of six men convicted of sexually assaulting an Albanian woman in a Milan club on January 22 2013 while he was playing for AC Milan.

The news was made public in November 2017.

The 39-year-old, whose real name is Robson de Souza, re-signed with boyhood club Santos for a fourth stint in October 2020 but less than a week later his contract was ended by mutual consent.

The decision was taken after leading sponsor Orthopride cut its ties with the club in reaction to the deal because of his Italian rape conviction.

Speaking after the Santos announcement, the striker took to Instagram to admit: 'Guys, this is Robinho.

'Of course, with a lot of sadness in my heart, I'm here to tell you that I made the decision with the club president to suspend my contract at this troubled time in my life.

'My goal has always been to help Santos Football Club and if in any way I'm getting in the way, it's best I leave and focus on my personal things.'

Since then he has updated his social media on just a handful of occasions, wishing his two million fans Happy New Year with posts on January 1 2022 and again in January this year.

Robinho's lawyers have said their client had consensual sexual relations at a bar with a young woman, along with five of his friends.

They have not yet commented on the positioning of Brazil's Public Prosecutor's Office about the former footballer going to prison in his home country.