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Home / Sport / Football

Football: The sad downfall of footballer Ronaldinho, the $159m star who had it all

NZ Herald
7 Mar, 2020 01:10 AM3 mins to read

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REPLAY: Sky Sport News - March 6

The scandal surrounding Brazilian football star Ronaldinho - accused of using a fake passport to enter Paraguay - is just the latest in a series of issues for the former great.

The 39-year-old two-time FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or winner has fallen from grace since retiring from the sport; reportedly in million dollars of debt, and having had property seized.

The latest drama saw the former Barcelona star detained in Paraguay, where he and his brother Roberto travelled to for an appearance at a charity event.

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Both had been suspected of using the fake passports by border agents upon their entry into the country, and according to the Paraguayan National Police, law-enforcement authorities uncovered the fake passports during a search of their hotel suite.

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"The information we have is that Mr Ronaldinho came into the country with an adulterated passport," Euclides Acevedo, Paraguay's interior minister, said on Thursday on Paraguayan radio.

Ronaldinho has endured a rough fall from grace. Photo / Photosport
Ronaldinho has endured a rough fall from grace. Photo / Photosport

However, that is just the extension of a string of issues to plague Ronaldinho since his retirement.

Last July, Ronaldinho had his Brazilian and Spanish passports confiscated over unpaid fines and debts in his home country of Brazil, with one report from there saying he owed more than US$2 million (NZ$3.2 million) in unpaid environmental fines, after he illegally constructed a pier at his lake house in Porto Alegre and had more than US$1.5 million (NZ$2.4 million) in other debts.

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Along with the money he made from his football contracts, he also earned millions of dollars endorsing such companies and Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nike, EA Sports and Gatorade, and last year the BBC estimated his net worth at around US$100 million (NZ$159 million).

However, according to reports in Spain in 2018, despite having millions in unpaid debts, authorities found a total of just £5.24 (NZ$10.76) in Ronaldinho's bank accounts.

RONALDINHO'S SCANDALOUS MARRIAGE CLAIMS

In 2018, Ronaldinho was forced to deny claims that he was to marry two women at the same time.

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Brazilian newspaper O Dia revealed he was to wed his two girlfriends, Beatriz Souza and Priscilla Coelho.

It was reported that he had gifted both women engagement rings, and the ceremony would take place at his $10 million mansion in Rio de Janeiro.

Ronaldinho in action. Photo / Photosport
Ronaldinho in action. Photo / Photosport

However, Ronaldinho denied the reports.

"The whole world is calling me. I'm not going to get married," he told reporters.

"It's the biggest lie," he added to Brazilian station Globo.

Not long after, Ronaldinho split with Coelho, who then launched a lawsuit for a share of his $137 million fortune.

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Her mother, Maria Aldenice dos Santos, spoke out about her daughter's three-way relationship.

"He had his bedroom for him and Priscilla, and another bedroom for him and Beatriz," she said.

"They would never be together in the same bed. One day would be Priscilla's and the next day Beatriz's.

"He gave both of them the same amount of spending money every month and he would give them exactly the same gifts. He once gave both a Rolex watch."

Maria said that Coelho had had enough by the end of 2018, and walked away from Ronaldinho after a huge fight.

Ronaldinho, a two-time world player of the year, last played professional football in 2015 after a storied career that included a 2002 World Cup title with the Brazilian national team and stops at European club titans Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and AC Milan.

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- Additional reporting Washington Post.

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