Argentine professional footballer Lionel Messi has reportedly expressed his readiness to spend an estimated Sh400 million in legal fees to help his former teammate Ronaldinho Gaucho secure his freedom.

Ronaldinho and his brother are battling charges of travelling to Paraguay with a fake travel document and have been held behind bars for close to two weeks pending the determination of the case.

And according to media reports in Spain, Argentine Messi is determined to help his friend get out of prison by hiring four ‘high-profile’ lawyers to handle his case.

The move would represent the best possible pay-back for Ronaldinho as he famously took the younger Messi under his wing and laid the foundation for his development during the duo’s earlier days in Barcelona.

Meanwhile, Ronaldinho, once considered one of the best football talents in the world before his retirement, is reported to have participated in a football match involving his fellow inmates.

The former Barcelona and AC Milan midfielder is currently detained at a specialized unit in the Paraguayan capital Asuncion pending his trial.