Ronaldinho behind bars: The ‘incredible’ story that landed the Barcelona legend in jail | ESPN FC

Julien Laurens joins ESPN FC to explain how Brazilian legend Ronaldinho ended up in a prison five-a-side game in Paraguay. Frank Leboeuf, Alejandro Moreno, Steve Nicol and Ian Darke reflect on his career and explain what made the former Barcelona, PSG and AC Milan star such a memorable player.
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[@ThatFifaGamer]

Ronaldinho literally had six star skill moves truly one of a kind he made it look so easy too. The player who made me fall in love with the beautiful game.

[@desmo998rr]

six star skill moves, lol.

[@dhieusalvator7756]

Alejandro Santos Dj

[@RichardMartinMusic]

he still looking for that Prison League Trophy! What a competitor!! XD

[@ignaciosx]

Nice one bro

[@jhermoso79]

Yeh man , and coronavirus didn't stop the league

[@stevensoar1392]

Love it fam 😂😂😂😂👊👊

[@ivanm10]

🤣🤣🤣🤣👌

[@vnation4443]

Hahahahah

[@sheriffakande5113]

Ronaldinho won everything including Prison League, who is gonna match that record🤐 .. GOAT

[@Kubwayo10]

He won the pig as a trophy dinner

[@boubacarbah1937]

It didn’t matter what team you supported every football fan loved watching him play. On his day he was unstoppable and I don’t think we will ever see a player as good as him on the ball 🔥🔥🔥👏👏

[@MR2perfectable]

Messi...

[@manish10009]

Better than him and messi is Ronaldo! Its about overall image not being a waste at 32

[@sugarz005]

@@MR2perfectable nope

[@thebichocr7659]

The Dark Magicians

[@manish10009]

@@Word-Life deluded fanboy

[@izuaff04]

He didn't have someone to guide him really ...off the pitch I think people took advantage of him .m

[@superlex611]

Way too much and it's a shame that his legacy is being tarnished

[@GStampedeIII]

Maybe those people paid to guide him were the ones with access to taken advantage of him. That's usually how it goes. Only trust your family, & even them only half the time. There only human

[@superlex611]

@@GStampedeIII not but he is naive anyway

[@Dezeberbro]

Also he partied a lot

[@neveraround5266]

His brother all his life

[@anthonyjcjr6954]

He's not a Barcelona legend? He's one of the greatest of all time in football

[@ahmedboos252]

He's both with 7 star skills

[@schoolboy7193]

Agree

[@Agger-pr2hz]

yEaHh fOr 5 sEasONs

[@dejansiljegovic4467]

I don't care what he does, he's a great guy at the core and he's a legend and and an inspiration to so many fans and footballers.... greatest pure talent and flair to ever grace the game, a magician!

[@Kanjeee911]

Plot twist: Ronnie wanted to self isolate during these crazy times. Genius

[@mhleligwala3681]

Lol 😂 True n I love him for that

[@bereketgenetu9870]

Just like his football iq genius

[@luismendoza6991]

He knew what was coming

[@bigdogtabooya5426]

So going to jail full of loads of people packed together achieves that...

[@illhaveanother4365]

*Ronaldinho

[@koteyares6636]

Imagine being in prison and suddenly ronaldinho is your cellmate

[@lalboimanlun1230]

Might be worth it afterall. 😂

[@dvscorpio3619]

So what?

[@anonymous05067]

Does not matter. You are still treated as criminal once you come out. It doesn’t change anything

[@jetscheme2125]

TaeJa y u so serious? It was a joke

[@fishyfish6510]

I want to go to jail now 🤣🤣🤣

[@scratchthesurface3138]

Still a legend even today.

[@smallshaq8062]

ofc

[@nickddd333]

Most natural ability of all time, can't imagine if he took the game serious what he could have done. No other player was that great with as little serious training like him.

[@umbertcaseres853]

Ronaldinho in a Paraguayan jail is actually a blessing in disguise. I’m pretty sure the jail is far away from coronavirus.

[@benban8055]

Well, the jails in Iran were not immune to it so why will Paraguayan's be. Btw Iran released 70,000 prisoners last week because of corona.

[@guilhermeperazzini]

He's still the best footballer in the world! I love you dinho!! What hec u doing dinho ?

[@jameal1056]

That's crazy.. everybody knows you.. u can't fake something like that bro... let a nobody like me fake my Id 🤣

[@andreotshudi]

Jameal honestly man who wouldn’t recognize dinho I think he does drugs

[@yousefahmed348]

Especially someone as famous as him

[@alfaomega5532]

Jameal 😂🤣😅 madness mate! 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@jameal1056]

@@andreotshudi lol... so true bro

[@totalrecall1358]

@@andreotshudi 😭😅For real , tho.... bruh high , high

[@michaelonyeka8313]

Ronaldinho made football look so easy. He was and still a magician.

[@raoulduke8720]

so this went from talking about him being arrested to talking about how great he was?

[@min24434]

He was a great footballer and should be remembered as such.

[@leanleankrabber3336]

min24434 ikr

[@frostyhkd]

That’s how good he was

[@greatomeister675]

You people nitpick every little thing

[@think_fool]

It's a sports channel... what did you expect?

[@Ialoveslr]

Hes not a barcelona legend. Hes a football legend!

[@HonestManUtdFan]

Bro it’s obvious he’s depressed... just imagine not being able do something you love.. iniesta too.. they both had that same look in their eyes

[@MultiAlex426]

Really sad , most of us here watching this has one thing in common , this man made us fall in love with this game, always wanted to meet him .

[@wentworthdouglas4792]

Free ronaldinho!!!!

[@FabriZohFC]

Legend

[@ImranKhan-cf8gs]

Roanaldinio will nutmeg all the prisoners inside what a quality player he was world class

[@GB-fk7eq]

no one shone brighter than this man. It was only for a 3 year period or so, had it been for twice that length of time he would have surpassed the GOAT Maradonna for me. But certainly ni star burned as bright as Ronaldinho did, on the field, tge commercials, comics, cartoons, figurines, it was celestial

[@shanebovell6733]

Any excuse to talk about my favourite footballer ever. Man as a kid watching the 2002 World Cup was magical.

[@martinbrankov8504]

If only Ronaldinho work out and did not party like a typical Brazilian.... He and Messi could do much more!

[@superlex611]

But it is limited

[@daniaalali4658]

My favourite player of all time Ronaldinho he brought me soo much joy growing up ❤️❤️

[@eliothrubio5024]

For the love of football can we get him back home . This is a legend

[@albertol9654]

Everyone picking Ronaldinho first in the scrimmage game.

[@niladri5436]

Dinho is without a doubt the most skilled player ever seen...without his mentoring messi wouldn't have this player...Gracias dinho for magic...

[@humbleoak85]

Thumbs up for not bashing greatness. Talk about never kicking a man when's he's down. Respect

[@dubabaxakatv2993]

First of all Ronaldinho should be travelling world wide without any passport,he is global icon....for me he is only player be allowed to walk everywhere without passport..we love him.from Kenya

[@emerson5666]

Even in prison, the guy is a legend. Scored 5 goals and made 6 assists in the final as his team won the futsal tournament 11-2. He went to dominate prison football

[@desmonddessy4614]

I think that was the reason he decided to use fake passport in order to go to prison.

[@Londonguy1987_]

Protect Ronny at all costs please. We don't need another tragedy at a time like this. Guy is a legend. I hope there are people out there looking out for him.

[@geoman9324]

Other players have the greater records Diego pele Messi both ronaldos best Rivaldo and other many talented players but Ronaldinho is the greatest talent and played the game how it should be with a smile. Pure genius with a ball.

[@mmsmith1525]

Rolandinho is the slickest footballer ever and he's also human and we all make mistakes in life. Hope he'll learn his lesson though because no one is above these law

[@rexididia6624]

He Is A Football Legend, He Was Born To Play The Game Football. Respect Ronaldinho

[@aidentv23]

I remember waiting to see him come out of a hotel with the Barca team in Monaco in 05 or 06 he was a genius with the ball pure raw talent

[@ezraramdeen8342]

Y’all really have nun to talk about 😂

[@vamte]

ucl is down just like any other major football league so yea...

[@mastersage5470]

yet here we are, no point in complaining when we're watching every single one of their videos, they have nothing to talk about and we have nothing more important to do or watch irl

[@gowengetit5590]

Pure dedication at its finest. Real commitment for top tier competition. He won it all except the Prison Cup 🔒🏆

[@freemantoman880]

Life is a lesson, Ronaldinho still learning. Stand strong big player.

[@DailyDiscountNL]

The prison football team was never so good! 😂

[@rahulbarca4112]

No matter where he goes...people still love him.

[@f4j123]

4:43 he scored 2 goals .. eto'o scored the first .. but his performance was better than scoring a hattrick

[@thebiggestloserinsportshis9623]

The greatest ever in his prime.

[@juliusthejew8927]

You are not wrong

[@martimrodrigues8965]

Nah Brazilian Ronaldo

[@koffatallawford2814]

For the longest time, I been saying his brother wasn't a good role model for him. I been saying he needed to get his brother out of his way. His brother is the reason he doesn't play anymore.

[@Simdamin87]

Koffa Tallawford no he don’t play because he’s old 😂😂😂

[@Coreficial]

What was he thinking?..Pray that this will pass soon and that he will learn from his mistake. Undoubtedly a gem of a player we've seen in our lifetime!

[@ibrahimahmed7158]

I know it's a dumb thing and offensive to forge a passport. But I am also glad people are not dismissing his contributions to football. He's one of the few football wonders.

[@NazriB]

I heard that some footballers were selling their medals and trophies online for money but i didnt expect one to end up in prison. Poor guy

[@red4life848]

Ah hate to hear that like a legend but how did he think he'd go unnoticed like He is one of the most recognisable people in the world.

[@lucafigueiredo6005]

These Brazilian legends all end up going down the wrong path after football

[@Jay-im3qj]

Beach life.

[@tiagozimermann9028]

Famous people feel like they are above law in Brazil (and they have reasons to believe so)

[@znhait]

Give me the examples? Pele has done great. Romario is a politician and is doing well. Ronaldo owns a team in La Liga. Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Kaka, Bebeto, Taffarel, et al, are all good citizens. Who exactly are you referring to?

[@haddingtoniangcp2464]

@@znhait talk of mindless generalisation!

[@truballa103]

Steeve Cantave what team does Ronaldo own 🙄🙄 he prolly has a piece of a team but he don’t own any team period

[@ocroafff5527]

Ronaldinho is the scientist of football player

[@luisriba8082]

I prefer Dihno over Messi a billion times even today. As much as, Im real fan seeing dihno was a pleasure regardless of the teams he played there is no one like him.

[@sheryldean5128]

This man is living his best life

[@audirings2894]

To be fair things he use to do on the pitch were criminal. So I guess this is payback. Still leaves a bad taste in my mouth though.

[@mlami1101]

Ronaldinho Gaucho assis de Moreira the most stylish player in the world by then

[@kabakasinclair6890]

Can't believe this RONALDINHO ur better than that bro ur RONALDINHO everyone know u bro

[@ronaldrutsito]

Lol Steve's answer on Ronaldinho and the passport is ridiculous...dude knew very well he didn't have a passport.

[@Subihabsfan]

Nonetheless still the man is a legend in the game. No one could control the ball like he can. He was magical on the pitch. The whole fake passport thing is pretty funny since he thought he can get away saying he's from Paraguay.😂

[@duduoshu]

Legend has it that dinho is still juggling the bar soap till now.

[@perildon187]

Poor ron 💙

[@luismendoza6991]

HE IS THE GOAT 🐐

[@superboy305]

Still love him no matter.

[@albertcardenas9437]

Still haunts Ramos to this day lol

[@Tag6488]

Albert Cardenas facts

[@raine4524]

For a legend, this was a dumb move.

[@rexbanner7611]

The prison 5 a side team are going to be unreal.

[@misfit2022]

The guy probably said what THE Ronaldinho. The mind boggles.

[@falaflani4831]

he was like chill i came for charity

[@Travellingisagift]

One of my favorite players. Why did he do that? He is so young to have forgotten that his passport was taken away by his government.

[@sauravsastry]

Kids remember messi,men remember pep Guardiola, legends remember johan cruyff and ultra legends remember Ronaldinho changed barcelona forever because of him barca won 4 champions league titles in decade and plus he sacrificed his entire career for leo messi if he would have had hard work and dedication he would have been better than leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

[@tobiasnyirenda2023]

No one is above the law, we are all under it. Lucky that justice is faced with everyone, he knew what he was doing but thought its not that serious...

[@sav9206]

Frank gave him a gift

[@peacepuffz]

Free Ronaldinho!

[@TheSink1000]

I’m here for a Jimmy Saville update..

[@chrispenmusevenzo100]

How can a legend do such a stupidity thing. The unstoppable ronaldinhooo!!

[@Kiddingyoumust]

There's an ESPN article about how all this may be related to money-laundering. ... yet they didn't speak a word of it. Weird.

[@seanmullin1692]

So if someone who is employed by espn says something it means whatever they say it’s everyone at espn view?

[@Kiddingyoumust]

​@@seanmullin1692 Umm... How the heck did you come up with this conclusion? The Peru police now believe this is related to money laundering. This has been reported by many media, INCLUDING ESPN. I just found it odd ESPNFC didn't mention this new fact at all. I SAID NOTHING ABOUT ANYONE HAVING TO HAVE MATCHING VIEWS. Are you high?

[@Stanleyhamer]

The goat

[@gwaitaalimuwaya9129]

I wanna open up a bank account in the names of RONALDINHO THE GREAT here in Uganda so that we help our brother the greatest entertainer in this beautiful game of football, It leaves me hrt broken into pieces 💔💔💔 to let this guy into prison for all that period of time however, this might be these best moments those prisoner who are enjoying with him to have had in their lives. RONALDINHO should have not used even the passport. His name and face is just enough. One ♥️♥️♥️👍👍

[@ikela2356]

Football made easy indeed he is genius.

[@kyg.avatar]

Still my hero the G.O.A.T but when you talk about stupidity still the 🐐

[@cryptoman9781]

Did he really thinks that people couldn’t recognize him.

[@papisazon8947]

We need another ronaldinho 😭😭😭

[@Topearner11]

Santi _609 only be one Ronaldinho . Free the president

[@ih8mcfly]

On par with the likes of Stewart Downing imo.

[@SonnyK248]

When he scored that goal no one thought he meant it because he was at PSG and no one really knew him. Then he goes to Barca and people saw him do audacious things like that on a weekly basis.

[@znhait]

What people? The football world doesn't revolve around certain groups of people. Ronaldinho had been a sensation at least since 1999 when he scored that amazing goal in the Copa America. He went to PSG only because back then, top young Brazilian talents didn't just go to the big teams.

[@SonnyK248]

@@znhait What exactly are you trying to prove here? There is a sensation in almost every Copa America. It's just the large majority of football fans outside of South America don't watch it. and in 99 there was no mainstream internet like today so if you didn't see it live you probably wouldn't have had a clue about it or cared. I know about what he did in the Copa America and I bet you found out after the fact like I did but you love throwing comments around acting like you watched it live and pretending you're the king of football knowledge.

[@ikennaiteoguradio268]

Ronaldinho has been on a downward spiral for years and all the yes men around him said nothing, now he has really hit the bottom

[@muhammaDEsmustafa]

He's not a Barcelona legend, he's a football legend

[@moviesjean23]

I don’t know why I’m crying

[@mutungiedmund2355]

So Sad 😔 Barcelona, Acmillan, Flamengo Football ⚽ Legendary being Arrested

[@marclaporte3710]

Just when you think he can't get any dumber. Why would he decide to do something so blatantly stupid ?

[@nuurjeceelka]

Perhaps He want his own cell to stay away from the Coronavirus Genius move Ronaldinho

[@johannesmaloda8209]

has he failed to pay the respective fine mentioned or was there a must for him to remain behind the bars?

[@addilaw790]

Truth is the Paraguayan authorities are so happy he chose their passport to forge they want a legend in their county for so long he’s never getting outta jail

[@afrimresidi5159]

That background on frank LOL

[@gdumpling6889]

I bet he was smiling and laughing when he was being handcuff into the police car

[@bl00dline360]

GDumpling I wouldn’t doubt it 😂😂😂

[@windlive04]

Imagine cellmate have te opportunity to play a match with Ronaldinho every week!! Fantastic

[@nobbyplies5285]

Free Ronaldinho, Free the Ronaldinho 1.

[@cosmicklutz1675]

Ronaldinho in that thumbnail looking like the thumb for his new vevo single

[@thevibesmunoz7212]

Free my boy Ronaldinho

[@9ossayalha169]

ESPN never talk about this legend untill he is in the jail

[@aaronjoseph2447]

They say Ronaldinho is still smiling even in jail 😂😂😂

[@gunner0479]

This is a crime against football heritage. Let him out!