Julian Assange has been granted an Ecuadorian passport just a day after threatening to kick him out of its London embassy, it has been claimed, according to The Daily Mail newspaper of the UK.

The WikiLeaks founder has posted a picture of himself wearing an Ecuador football shirt, adding to the speculation he had been granted citizenship.

All the talk was that he may be expelled from the Ecuadorian embassy where he has spent the past five years avoiding arrest.

Assange moved to the embassy in London in 2012 as he tried to avoid extradition to Sweden over charges of rape and sexual assault.

Even though Swedish prosecutors have dropped their investigation into allegations against Assange, he fears he will be extradited to the United States if he leaves the building and that there is a sealed indictment ordering his arrest in connection with WikiLeaks’ 2010 disclosure of secret US military documents and diplomatic messages.