Italian prosecutors have requested an international arrest warrant for the Brazilian former footballer Robinho after he was convicted of raping an Albanian girl. 

Officials have asked the Brazilian authorities to extradite the former Real Madrid, Manchester City and AC Milan forward, 38, so he can serve a nine-year jail term. 

In 2017, Robinho and five other Brazilians were found guilty of the gang rape of a 22-year-old Albanian woman in a Milan nightclub four years earlier. 

In January, the Supreme Court in Rome dismissed Robinho's final appeal against his conviction. Now, Italian prosecutors have asked their counterparts in Brazil to hand him over so he can serve his prison sentence. However, this appears unlikely since the Brazilian constitution does not allow the extradition of its citizens. 

Under the arrest warrant, Robinho may, however, face arrest if he leaves his country and sets foot in any of the nearly 70 countries Italy does have an extradition agreement with. 

During his appeal, Robinho, who was playing for AC Milan at the time, did admit to having 'contact' with the woman but insisted it was consensual. 

The Milan Court of Appeals found that Robinho had 'belittled' and 'brutally humiliated' the victim as it upheld the initial sentence in a December 2020 hearing.