A former Brazillian and Barcelona football club legend, Ronaldinho Gaúcho,  has been released from a Paraguayan prison after a month inside. He was jailed alongside his brother in early March, after entering the South American country with an illegal passport.

The World Cup winner will remain under house arrest and will live in a hotel in the Paraguayan capital, Asuncion, until he is given the all clear to return to Brazil.

According to news agency EFE, the 2005 Ballon d’Or winner and his brother paid a $1.6million bail for their freedom and will continue to be monitored by local police at their hotel.

“I decided to put them in house arrest because the investigation is now well advanced, differently from the situation one month ago,” Judge Gustavo Amarilla said when issuing the ruling.

Ronaldinho celebrated his 40th birthday last month inside the prison, as inmates organised a barbecue and baked a cake for the former Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan forward.

He also took part in a football tournament in the jail, helping his team win the competition and first prize: a 16 kg suckling pig.

The former Barcelona captain had his passport seized at home due to an investigation into alleged environmental crimes, but the document was returned to him in September. One month later he played in a friendly in Israel.