Ronaldinho wants to come out of retirement to play for Maradona’s Gimnasia de La Plata

Ronaldinho is considering coming out of retirement to play under Diego Maradona at Gimnasia de La Plata, according to reports in Argentina.

The 40-year-old former Barcelona star has not played professionally since 2015 when he plying his trade at Brazilian club Fluminense.

But Argentina’s version of Marca cites reports in El Dia that Maradona is keen to include him in his squad after he was reportedly informed by the Brazil World Cup winner that he is open to the move.

However, Ronaldinho is still under house arrest in Paraguay for allegedly trying to enter the country on a fake passport.

He was arrested on March 5 in the South American country alongside his business-manager brother Roberto de Assis, who was also charged with the same crime.

The duo spent 32 days in prison after their arrest, but were released from jail in April and have since been staying at a hotel in the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion while awaiting trial over forged documentation.

The former Brazil international had been facing up to six months in prison before he reportedly paid a £1.3million bond, but the process has since been slowed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ronaldinho also lifted the lid on his time in prison, and revealed that it came as a surprise that the documents he had used were not legal.

‘I never imagined that something like this could happen to me, it was a big blow,’ said the former Barça player, as cited by Marca.

‘I came to Paraguay to launch an online casino and a book. Everything we do is under the contracts that are managed by my brother.

‘We were absolutely surprised to learn that the documents we had were not legal. From that moment on, our intention was always to collaborate with the courts to clarify the facts.

‘I always have my faith, I always pray for things to go well and hopefully soon all this will come to an end. All my life I have tried to reach the highest professional level and bring joy to people with my football.

‘My time in prison? They have welcomed me with kindness: playing football, signing autographs and photos…that is part of my life.’