RONALDINHO shows he’s still smiling despite house arrest and the threat of a five-year jail sentence – with a live appearance from his hotel room in Paraguay.
The former Barcelona and AC Milan star was a surprise guest during an online show by his friends in Brazilian samba band Grupo Revelacao.
A live stream from Ronaldinho’s hotel room was broadcast by the band
The 40-year-old, allowed to swap prison earlier this month for the four-star Hotel Palmaroga in the Paraguayan capital Asuncion, greeted the band with his trademark goofy grin during a video call.
And he also performed his trademark thumb and little finger waggle, the same gesture he made when Paraguayan judge Gustavo Amarilla told him on April 7 he was being moved from jail after approving his house arrest petition.
One of the members of the band, who keen amateur musician Ronaldinho has played with, introduced their surprise guest by saying: “The man who’s been freed.
“Look who’s called us. He’s been freed. Our friend Ronaldinho Gaucho.”
As the footballer blew kisses at his musician pals, and put his hand to his heart in a show of his affection for them, the band member joked: “Here’s the man who’s even dribbled past coronavirus.”
He added: “People love you. We love you, we’re with you.”
Ronaldinho’s unannounced appearance took place ahead of the band’s performance online to raise money for families badly affected by coronavirus.
Ronaldinho has taken to the stage several times with samba band Grupo Revelacao, he performed with them during a show in Rio de Janeiro in 2011 and is a close friend of the former lead singer Xande de Pilares.
PLAYING SPACE
It was the first time Ronaldinho has shown his face since checking into his hotel, where he has been given a first-floor presidential suite near where his brother Roberto is staying.
The retired footballer spends most of his time in his suite, although it emerged earlier this week he had been given another room and a football to practice his famous tricks with.
Hotel manager Emilio Yegros, confirmed: “We supplied him with a ball and we set up a room so he could practice his skills in.”
He added: “He seems like a nice guy. He’s always smiling, like his brother. His mood has changed since the first day he arrived when he was tense and visibly stressed.”
Ronaldinho and his brother were arrested on March 6 after allegedly entering Paraguay with doctored passports falsely showing they were naturalised Paraguayan citizens.
A criminal investigation is ongoing and officials are probing whether the false passport scandal, which has led to the arrests of more than a dozen people including a Brazilian businessman alleged to have handed them the travel documents, is linked to an attempted money laundering operation.
Ronaldinho, who among other reasons had been invited to Paraguay to help promote a children’s charity, had been warned he could be held in prison for up to six months while a decision was taken on whether to put him on trial.
He turned 40 in prison last month and had to make do with a low-key barbecue cooked for him by other inmates.
Ronaldinho released from prison and placed under house arrest after paying £1.3m bond for fake passport scandal
The crime he is being investigated over carries a maximum prison sentence of up to five years in Paraguay. He has been warned he is likely to have to remain under house arrest for at least four-and-a-half months.
Ronaldinho and his brother deny the charges.
His Paraguayan lawyer Adolfo Marin has said the former footballer had been given his Paraguayan passport as a “gift”, assumed it was an “honorary-type” document of no real value, and gave it to an official without thinking when he reached Paraguay because it was the “first thing he got out of his bag”.
Last month the lawyer branded Ronaldinho “stupid”, saying he hadn’t understand he had been given false documents to enter Paraguay.
Ronaldinho’s life has been under the microscope for all the wrong reasons since he won two Fifa World Player of the Year Awards as well as a Ballon d’Or at the peak of his playing career.
He officially retired from football in 2018. The same year he was forced to deny bigamy claims.
Ronaldinho briefly met friends and family as he was transferred to house arrestCredit: EPA
He had his Brazilian passport confiscated after he was convicted alongside his brother of building an illegal fishing platform on a lake in a conservation area.
But Paraguayan prosecutors confirmed last month that it had been returned to him and he used it to leave Brazil on a flight from Sao Paulo.
Last year it was reported Ronaldinho only had POUNDS five in his bank account.
Police raided a Ronaldinho family home to seize assets in a bid to guarantee he paid fines due over the illegal fishing platform.
Officers were said last November to have seized three luxury cars and a piece of art from painter Andre Berardo.
This is the moment Ronaldinho is told he is being released from prison as he grins from ear to ear on video link
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
