Former Manchester United player Anderson has been sentenced to prison for not paying child support.
The 36-year-old, who clinched four Premier League championships over eight years at Old Trafford, now faces the possibility of jail time in Brazil.
Anderson has been ordered to either pay the £45,000 he owes or serve a prison term.
Last Thursday, a family court judge in Porto Alegre delivered the verdict, which became public overnight.
Brazilian news source GZH reports that Anderson could be jailed for 30 days if he does not clear his child support debt, with his sentence to be served at the Irmao Miguel Dario Prison.
The former Red Devils midfielder may alternatively serve his sentence in a ‘semi-open’ regime, allowing him to work or study outside during the day and return to prison to sleep at night.
This is not the first occasion that the retired player has been entangled in a legal controversy.
In 2021, a year after he ended his football career, he faced accusations of laundering £4.7 million through cryptocurrency transactions.
Brazilian newspaper Globo reported that Anderson was among eight individuals being investigated by a state prosecutor for their alleged role in a scheme to siphon funds from the state stock exchange.
The Brazilian refuted the claims at that time, but it is presently uncertain if the investigation is still active and whether he managed to clear his name.
It is thought that Anderson is the father of nine children, as he mentioned in an interview with Globo in January that he was expecting his ninth child, despite previous reports in 2015 stating he had three daughters and two sons.
During his tenure at Old Trafford, he secured 12 titles, largely under the guidance of the renowned manager Sir Alex Ferguson, and shared the field with some of the best players of his era.
One notable figure was the Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who, as he disclosed, let him and winger Nani, who joined in the same summer, stay with him during their initial period in England.
After departing from United in 2015, Anderson made his way back to Brazil to join Internacional.
He remained there for three years before concluding his career in 2020, after spending two years with the Turkish team Adana Demirspor.
