BARCELONA star Lionel Messi has angrily hit back at reports that claimed he had bailed out former team-mate Ronaldinho from prison in Paraguay.
Lawyers for Ronaldinho and his brother had posted a £1.3million bail – prompting speculation about where the money had suddenly come from.
This led to rumours that Messi bizarrely helped front the cash for the pair, who are now under house arrest while they await trial for allegedly entering Paraguay with fake passports.
Messi’s former Barca team-mate Xavi recently revealed how Ronaldinho “adopted” the Argentinian ace as a little brother during their time together at the Nou Camp.
But the 32-year-old took to Instagram to deny that he helped out the ex-Paris Saint-Germain forward, as he told his 147 million followers not to believe the “fake news”.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner took a screenshot from TNT Sports and wrote: “#FakeNews and Lie 1: Messi to Inter, Lie 2: Messi gave money to Ronaldinho in jail”.
He then added: “What they said about Newell’s Old Boys a few weeks ago was also false.
“Thank goodness that nobody believes them anymore.”
On March 6, Ronaldinho and his brother were held in Paraguay on suspicion of entering the country with false documents.
Both men deny any wrongdoing, but there have been reports that Ronaldinho is connected to a money laundering scheme, though it remains unclear at how much the Blaugrana legend was aware of.
Despite only being in jail for a month, his presence was huge, as inmates wept and organised a surprise barbecue to bid farewell to him after he was placed on house arrest.
While in prison, Ronaldinho took part in a futsal tournament – with predictable results – and he even dabbled in carpentry.
