Police have made an arrest in relation to the long-running missing persons case of the fraudster brother of a former St Kilda footballer.

Brendan Breen was last seen in Melbourne on April 12, 2012.

Victoria Police said the then 55-year-old was reported missing by his former spouse, with whom he remained on good terms, after he cancelled a dinner with her at the last minute by text.

Mr Breen, who had previously been charged with fraud and spent several years in prison, is the brother of Barry Breen, who played 300 games for St Kilda in the VFL from the mid-60s to the 1980s.

Police said it was initially unclear if Brendan Breen had disappeared of his own accord.

His family became concerned when he failed to attend his daughter’s funeral in 2018.

Investigators said Mr Breen had not accessed his bank accounts or phone and there had been no reported sightings of him since his disappearance.

A 42-year-old Brisbane man was arrested by detectives from Victoria’s Missing Persons Squad this morning.

He was interviewed and released pending further inquiries, police said.

Mr Breen’s family last month made a renewed appeal for information in his case.

“I always thought there was something not right,” his twin sister Fiona said at the time.

“It’s very hard. How can you explain how you feel when you don’t know what’s happened to him?”

Mr Breen had previously been known by the names Brendan Green, Brian Greer and Brendan Larcombe.

He is described as being 183 centimetres tall, with a medium build, an olive complexion, grey receding hair and blue eyes.