- Debts.Ronaldinho: no passport, attached and drowned by debts
- Soccer: Ronaldinho's best dribble: he uses a double to avoid talking about his fiscal problems
Everything changed quickly. in a few minutes, he went from being greeted as a star to being in a prison yard. Soccer player Ronaldinho arrived on March 4 in the Paraguayan capital, Asunción, to participate in one of the typical promotional events with which he now earns a living. This time he was invited by the owner of a casino and an entity called 'Angelic Fraternity'. The player arrived at the airport with a party, surrounded by fans and escorted by the police, but border agents soon discovered that something smelled bad. Both he and his brother Roberto presented passports in which they were said to be naturalized Paraguayans, which was clearly not true. In order not to collapse the airport, the police chose to wait a bit and arrested them later in the morning at their hotel.
The Prosecutor's Office accused the businessman who invited Paraguay, Wilmondes Sousa Lira, of preparing the false documents, and the Paraguayan Isabel Galloso and Esperanza Apolonia Caballero for participating in the scheme. Another woman, Dalia López, reportedly ordered the passports falsified, and she is now missing. Ronaldinho and his brother maintain that the passports were a "gift" and that they were deceived. But the question that resonates until today is: why did they enter Paraguay with a false passport? Brazilian citizens, because they belong to Mercosur, can enter Paraguay simply by presenting their ID, there is no need for a passport. Paraguayan investigators suspect that there is something else behind this plot and refused to release the player on provisional release. The judge handling the case cited flight risk. At the moment, everything indicates that Ronaldinho will celebrate his 40th birthday (March 21) behind bars.
PRISON LIFE
According to the Paraguayan press, life goes smoothly inside the prison where the two brothers are, the Specialized Group of the Asunción National Police. It is a maximum security center where there are 195 prisoners, most of them drug traffickers and politicians accused of corruption.
The most dangerous prisoners are in a wing away from the pavilion where Ronaldinho is located. Both he and his brother are in a cell with a television and a fan, use a shared bathroom and can go out to the patio frequently, where obviously, football could not be missing. Teams of prisoners and prison officers fight the striker in the makeshift playoffs in free time.
During the weekend, Ronaldinho received the visit of Carlos Alberto Gamarra, former player of Atlético de Madrid and former captain of the Paraguay team. When leaving, Gamarra revealed some details of the conversation with the player: "Ronaldinho told me: 'I come from below, I know suffering, the only thing that worries me is my mother. The rest, for me. I am a man and I have have to put up with everything that comes, '"he told ABC Cardinal.
In addition to receiving visits, the former FC Barcelona player also distributed autographs and took photos with family members visiting other prisoners in jail. Despite the country airs and the close treatment of the former footballer, Ronaldinho does not sit with his tray in the dining room with the rest of the prisoners. His lawyers bring him food from outside.
The prison director, Blas Vera, did not hide that the player is receiving a certain favor treatment: "We are trying to make his stay as pleasant as possible," he told Reuters a few days ago.
The arrest of the soccer star caused a stir in both Paraguay and Brazil. Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez demanded an in-depth investigation "whoever falls," although he admitted that he is sorry for the player's situation and that his son wants to take photos with him.
At the moment, there are already 14 people on trial and by pulling the thread, the investigators are uncovering a complex corruption scheme. The scandal has already brought forward the general director of Migrations, Alexis Penayo, who resigned this week.
Brazil's Justice Minister Sérgio Moro called the Paraguayan authorities to inquire about Ronaldinho's state. And it is that the player, image of dozens of brands, also has a link with the Brazilian Government. Thanks to his affinity with President Jair Bolsonaro, a few months ago he was named 'Brazilian tourism ambassador'. It is an unpaid honorary position that aims to take advantage of the more than 100 million followers that the athlete has on social networks to promote tourism. "I hope to be able to help, wherever I go in the world, to show this country so beautiful by nature, inviting everyone to come here. It is a source of great pride," he said when he was appointed in September of the year. past. Drawing on the most hackneyed cliches, one of his first posts focused on highlighting that Brazil is a "happy" country, land of soccer and Carnival.
The irony of fate wanted the ambassador of the beauties of Brazil to be imprisoned for using a false passport, but the fact is that when he was named 'ambassador' Ronaldinho could no longer leave the country, due to various problems that he has been dragging for years with the Justice . His problems began as a result of the mansion he ordered to be built a few years ago next to Lake Guaíba, in Porto Alegre, his hometown.
Ronaldinho did not hesitate to build a dock and a mill on protected land, which earned him an environmental fine that, to this day, he has not yet paid. The snowball grew larger and in the end the Justice seized 57 properties . To prevent him from escaping from Brazil, his Brazilian and Spanish passports were confiscated, which he obtained in his time at FC Barcelona, but nobody expected Ronaldinho to get a third passport ... Paraguayan.
OTHER 'CRACKS' OF POLEMICS
Ronaldinho is not the only Brazilian player to grab headlines off the soccer fields. Neymar Junior starred last year on an accusation of rape by a model, Najila Trindade. In the end, Justice closed the case and she was accused of slander and extortion. One of those who supported the player in public at the time was Bolsonaro. Neymar, like Ronaldinho and Rivaldo, is a fervent follower of the controversial leader of the Brazilian far right.
Ronaldo, always in focus for his comings and goings with obesity, earns a living as a sports commentator and publicity claim, although he also flirted with politics. In 2014, he actively campaigned for the conservative Aécio Neves, now in disgrace after several corruption scandals.
The one who did fully enter politics is Romario, a former deputy and current senator and whose flag is the fight against rare diseases. He was also a candidate for governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro on two occasions, and on one of them he was accused of asking for money in exchange for supporting another candidate on the second shift.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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