- Former Manchester United midfielder faces jail sentence in Brazil
- The decision was made last week after he ‘failed to pay child support’
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Former Manchester United midfielder Anderson has been sentenced to prison for allegedly failing to pay child support.
The 36-year-old man has been told he will serve a prison sentence in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre unless he pays the £45,000 he owes.
The decision was made last week by a family court judge in the retired footballer’s hometown, but was only made public last night.
The prison where former Brazil international Anderson, who won four Premier League titles with Man United after joining the club from Porto in July 2007, was incarcerated is known locally as Irmao Miguel Dario Prison.
The former footballer, who played for Fiorentina in Italy and Internacional in his homeland before hanging up his boots at the age of 31, has reportedly been told he will spend 30 days behind bars if he fails to repay his maintenance debt.
Former Manchester United midfielder Anderson has been sentenced to prison for failing to pay child support
The cell where former Brazil international Anderson, who won the Premier League four times with Man United, has been identified locally as the Irmao Miguel Dario prison
According to a respected Brazilian news website, he has been offered the option of serving his prison sentence in a “semi-open” regime, where he can work or study outside the prison during the day but sleep at night. GZH.
Anderson came to the fore in his home country four years ago after he was accused of laundering £4.7 million through cryptocurrencies.
Anderson, full name Anderson Luis de Abreu Oliveira, became a father of four children in 2015 and nine children earlier this year. In an interview with a Brazilian newspaper, he spoke about his time at Manchester United.
He revealed that he and his former Portugal teammate Nani were ‘adopted’ by Cristiano Ronaldo for almost a year while sleeping in his home, saying their beds were stretchers.
He said: ‘I am very grateful to him. He adopted me. We lived with Ronaldo for almost a year. We left because we wanted to leave.
“For him we could have stayed there. We didn’t spend anything. The man took us to training, fed us, had a cook for us. There was a swimming pool inside and outside the house, a jacuzzi and a tennis court.”
Neither Anderson, who has played eight times for his country at senior level, nor his lawyer have commented.