A close friend of disgraced former footballer Robinho has been found dead in Brazil, weeks after being implicated in the footballer’s controversial rape conviction.
Rudney Gomes, aged 46, was discovered on Tuesday night, March 18, in Santos, a port city in São Paulo state. Authorities believe Gomes’ death was a suicide, although investigations are ongoing.
Gomes was one of the individuals named by Robinho during a formal statement in relation to a rape case that has garnered global attention.
The former Manchester City and Real Madrid star, now serving a nine-year prison sentence in Brazil, was convicted by an Italian court for the sexual assault of a woman in Milan in 2017.
Robinho claimed that the woman, an Albanian national, had engaged in consensual sexual activities after consuming alcohol at a nightclub. He also implicated Gomes and three other men, although Gomes was never formally charged or tried in the case.
Gomes, who fled Italy before he could be summoned to court, had reportedly been living in Brazil for several years.
Another of Robinho’s associates, Ricardo Falco, was convicted and is also serving a nine-year sentence in Brazil for his role in the assault. Gomes’ tragic death has raised questions about whether his apparent suicide was connected to the emotional toll of the case.
READ ALSO: Former La Liga Star Andrija Delibasic Dies at 43 After Cancer Battle
Emergency responders were called to the scene after Gomes was found on the ground below an 11th-floor apartment in Santos.
Despite efforts to save him, he was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have yet to confirm whether the rape case played any part in Gomes’ decision to end his life.
Robinho, who had once been one of football’s brightest stars, has faced significant legal challenges in recent years. Following his conviction, both he and Falco returned to Brazil after their failed appeals in Italy.
Robinho has been incarcerated in Tremembé Prison near São Paulo since March 21 of last year, when Brazil’s High Court of Justice granted Italy’s request to have him serve his sentence in his home country.
