Ronaldinho: Ex-Brazil and Barcelona star has property seized over unpaid fines

Ronaldinho retired after seven games for Fluminese in 2015

Former Brazil forward Ronaldinho has had 57 properties seized and his Brazilian and Spanish passports confiscated over unpaid taxes and fines, according to reports in Brazil.

The twice World Player Of The Year was fined 9.5m reais (£2.06m) for illegally building a pier at his lake house in the city of Porto Alegre, the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo said.

But as well as the environmental fine, Ronaldinho is also being pursued by creditors seeking to recover £1.69m in other debts, such as council taxes.

A judge in Porto Alegre told the Reuters news agency that because the case was under judicial secrecy rules, no details of the newspaper report could be confirmed or denied.

Ronaldinho was the 2004 and 2005 World Player of the Year and enjoyed the prime of his career at Spanish giants Barcelona. He won the World Cup in 2002 alongside fellow superstar forwards Ronaldo and Rivaldo.

The captain of that team, Cafu, is similarly facing financial problems, having had various apartments he owns in Brazil seized by the authorities.

Ronaldinho's net worth is estimated at £80-100m and he is reported to charge around £150,000 for a single promoted Instagram post.