Former Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho to celebrate 40th birthday in jail

Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho is celebrating his 40th birthday on Saturday in prison after getting six months behind bars in a fake passport case.

The former Barcelona and AC Milan superstar along with his elder brother Roberto were detained at the Asuncion Airport on 4 March for attempting to enter Paraguay on fake passports worth $ 6,000 each.

Former Brazilian football star Ronaldinho, right in foreground, turned 40 on 21 March. He will celebrate his birthday behind bars. AP

Unfortunately for the 2005 Ballon D’Or winner, his defence took a blow since businesswoman Dalia Lopez who had fixed his trip failed to show up in court.

The footballer's plea to swap his jail stay for house arrest has already been quashed last week.

Ronaldinho, who officially retired in 2018, is known for his wild birthday bashes. According to reports, he partied till 6 am when he turned 26, while the celebrations went on for five days on his 32nd birthday.

As per a report in Metro UK, his lawyer claimed he could have entered Paraguay with his Brazilian papers but thought he had received special documents. The lawyer added that Ronaldinho did not know he was committing a crime, because he did not understand that he had been given false documents.

In 2018, the player along with his brother had their passports and 57 properties confiscated for illegally building a pier in Porto Alegre, which is an environmentally-protected zone. His ex-fiancee Priscilla Coelho had filed charges of assault against him as well, the report added.