While he’s not completely out of trouble yet, Ronaldinho is at least out of prison. The Brazilian soccer phenom and his brother, Roberto Assis, were arrested last month as they tried to enter Paraguay using fake passports, and the Bollon d’Or winner has repeatedly claimed his innocence, asserting that he had no idea the documents were false. Now that he’s been released from prison, Ronaldinho has been able to provide more details about the drama and has conducted his first interview as a semi-free man.

[Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]

Ronaldinho and Assis were on their way to Paraguay in order to take part in several publicity events when they attempted to cross the border into the country with their alternative passports. Upon discovering “irregularities” with the documents, police arrested the two on March 7 and sent them off to jail. After serving 32 days of a six-month sentence, they were allowed to leave the confines of the prison on April 9, but are being forced to remain on house arrest at a nearby hotel until they have their day in court.

Completely caught off-guard by the status of the passports, Ronaldinho never expected to be involved in an embarrassing situation like this. He participated in an interview with ABC Color after his release from prison, explaining, “We were totally surprised to learn that the documents were not legal. Since then, our intention has been to collaborate with the justice system to clarify the facts. From that moment until today, we have explained everything and facilitated everything that has been requested of us.”