The 41-year-old football player, who has been in prison since March 2024, Dr. Jose Augusto Cesar Salgado in the state of Sao Paulo, claims that he is treated like any other prisoner, writes the Daily Mail.
In the video released by the non-profit organization for the rehabilitation of criminals, Robinho appears relaxed and describes his life behind bars. He claims that the rumors about his privileged status or mental problems are false.
“My meals and sleeping hours are the same as other prisoners. I have never eaten different food, nor have I ever been treated differently. I do everything I can, like everyone else. We are allowed to play football on Sundays,” said Robinho.
He emphasized that he had no privileges. “The visits are on Saturdays or Sundays. When my wife comes, she doesn’t come alone, she comes with my children. The visits and the treatment are the same for everyone. I’ve been here for a year and a half and I’ve never had any fights, not even at football,” he said.
He also rejected claims that he has a leadership role in the prison. “I’ve never had any leadership role here, or anywhere else. Here, the guards are in charge, and we, the prisoners, just obey. I’m not different because I was a football player.”
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The interview was published amid media reports that Robinho had requested to be transferred to another prison, which the judge reportedly refused.
Robinho was jailed in Brazil after a court in his home country upheld the verdict of an Italian court. He and his friend Ricardo Falco were convicted of gang-raping an Albanian woman in a nightclub in Milan in January 2013, while he was playing for Milan. After several years of appeals, both returned to Brazil.
The former football player still maintains that he is innocent and that the victim agreed to a “consensual orgy”. In March of this year, his friend Rudney Gomes, also involved in the case, was found dead. The police characterized his death as a suicide.
As a player, Robinho was twice the champion of Brazil with Santos, twice the champion of Spain with Real Madrid and the champion of Italy with Milan. In the jersey of the Brazilian national team, he won the Copa America in 2007.
(Vijesti.ba)
