Former Brazil star Ronaldinho has been released from prison in Paraguay after spending five months in detention over a forged passport.
Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto de Assis Moreira were released on Monday by a judge after having spent the past four months under house arrest at a hotel in the Paraguayan capital. The pair had already spent a month in a maximum security prison in Paraguay before being placed under house arrest.
Both were arrested for possession and usage of false paraguayan passports with which they entered the country to conduct business activities.
A judge in Asuncion agreed to a “conditional suspension” of charges, effectively clearing the player of any responsibility for the crime but ordering him to pay $90 000 in costs, which would be given to charitable organizations.
Ronaldinho has since opened up about the whole ordeal claiming he had no idea that the travel documents required to enter Paraguay were forged.
“From that moment until today, we have explained everything and facilitated everything that has been requested of us. We cooperated towards all officials as best as we could. It was a hard blow, I never imagined that I would go through such a situation. All my life I have sought to reach the highest professional level and bring joy to people with my football.” Ronaldinho said.