Many of Brazil’s footballing stars, past and present, from Pele to Rivaldo to Neymar Junior, have expressed their support for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro as he runs for re-election.
Amongst those stars is Ronaldinho. The great Barcelona forward of the 2000s has expressed support for the far-right candidate in both of his election campaigns, who has been accused of mass environmental terrorism and genocide for allowing a state of lawlessness in the Amazon rainforest.
Ronaldinho was once appointed as a tourism ambassador by Bolsonaro and now further questions about the nature of his support for the politician have been raised.
Back in 2020, Ronaldinho spent several months in a Paraguayan prison after travelling on a false passport.
According to Sport, the files from his release and return to Brazil have been sealed by Bolsonaro for 100 years. Normally an area reserved for the foreign office, Bolsonaro personally intervened to ensure the negotiations to return Ronaldinho to Brazil did not see the light of day for the next century. Should his opponent, Lula da Silva win the election, he has promised to make public the details of this and the 64 other cases sealed by Bolsonaro.
