Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has dismissed accusations made by a US woman, who alleges she was raped by the footballer in 2009, as “fake news”.
In an Instagram ‘story’, Ronaldo said: “They want to promote [themselves] by [using] my name. It’s normal.”
The allegations were published in the German magazine Der Spiegel, which said that Kathryn Mayorga had claimed Ronaldo raped her in a hotel room in Las Vegas.
Ronaldo’s lawyers say they will sue the magazine.
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She also claimed that in 2010 she signed an out-of-court settlement of around £275,000 to never go public with the allegations.
Her lawyers are now seeking to find the declared non-disclosure agreement void.
In a statement, Ronaldo’s lawyer Christian Schertz said “the reporting in Spiegel is blatantly illegal”.
Schertz said he would seek compensation from the magazine for “moral damages in an amount corresponding to the gravity of the infringement, which is probably one of the most serious violations of personal rights in recent years.”
Mayorga’s lawyer, Leslie Mark Stovall said in a statement: “The purpose of this lawsuit is to hold Cristiano Ronaldo responsible within a civil court of law for the injuries he has caused Kathryn Mayorga and the consequences of those injuries.”
The magazine’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Alfred Weinzierl, told Reuters the publication has repeatedly sought contact and comment from Ronaldo’s management and lawyers about the allegations before publishing.
Ronaldo transferred from Real Madrid to Juventus this summer for a Serie A record transfer fee near £100 million. He is one of the most famous figures in football and world sport.