Ronaldinho released from house arrest

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Ronaldinho (center) is allowed to return to his native Brazil

After more than five months in prison and under house arrest in Paraguay, the Brazilian ex-soccer star Ronaldinho has been released. A judge in Asunción ordered the release of Ronaldinho and his brother. Both had been arrested in March after entering Paraguay for traveling with forged passports.

There is no evidence that Ronaldinho could pose a threat to society due to his character or behavior, a prosecutor said before the trial. The judge also ruled that Ronaldinho and his brother were allowed to leave the country.

Ronaldinho accepted the terms of his release at the court hearing. One of them is that he has to pay the equivalent of around 76,000 euros. His brother has to pay the equivalent of around 93,000 euros. Both have to appear before a judge every three months in Brazil - for Ronaldinho this requirement applies for a period of one year, for his brother for two years.

House arrest in a luxury hotel

Ronaldinho and his brother and manager Roberto were released from custody after a month in pre-trial detention on bail of around 1.3 million euros and were placed under house arrest in a luxury hotel. Ronaldinho claims that he did not know that the passports were forged.

The ex-soccer player and his brother had their passports revoked in Brazil in November 2018 because they had not paid millions in fines. The penalty was imposed because they are said to have caused massive environmental damage in the development of a property.

Ronaldinho is considered one of the best footballers in history. He played a central role in the Brazilian national team that became world champions in 2002. Ronaldinho spent a large part of his career in Europe. He played for FC Barcelona, ​​AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain. Among other things, he won the 2006 Champions League, in 2004 and 2005 he was elected world footballer.

bam / AFP