Ronaldinho had a goodbye barbecue with tearful inmates before release (ESPN)

Published on: 09 April 2020

Inmates were in tears as they held a barbecue to say goodbye to Ronaldinho this week after the former Brazil star was placed on house arrest following 32 days in a Paraguayan prison, according to ESPN.

Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto Assis, who is also his business manager, were incarcerated in Paraguay since March 6 for attempting to enter the country with falsified passports, even though residents of Brazil do not need passports to enter their landlocked neighbour.

They had been denied bail three times previously but on Tuesday a judge granted them house arrest in exchange for a bail payment of $1.6 million.

Once the news reached the inmates at the detention unit in Asuncion, sources have explained how they hastily arranged a goodbye barbecue for Ronaldinho and his brother.

The former Barcelona forward had become a popular figure at the facility. Sources told ESPN he was "loved" by his fellow prisoners at the jail, where daily activities included playing football with the inmates and the employees and attending a carpentry course.

He has promised to return to visit them before he heads back to Brazil, although it is unclear when that will be possible. The probe into the falsified passports has expanded into an investigation into possible money laundering.

Source: m.allfootballapp.com

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