Ronaldo denies rape allegation, says 'goes against everything that I am'

German publication Der Spiegel had reported on Friday an accusation by Kathryn Mayorga that the Portuguese superstar had raped her in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009.

Cristiano Ronaldo's legal team described Der Spiegel's report as "blatantly illegal" and confirmed that it will pursue action against the publication for "inadmissible reporting of suspicions in the area of privacy".

Cristiano Ronaldo took to Twitter on Wednesday to deny the accusation by Kathryn Mayorga that the Portuguese superstar had raped her in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009.

I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me. Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in. Keen as I may be to clear my name, I refuse to feed the media spectacle created by people seeking to promote themselves at my expense.

— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) October 3, 2018

 

The Las Vegas police had earlier in the day said it had reopened an investigation into the alleged sexual assault.

German publication Der Spiegel reported the claims on Friday, prompting Ronaldo to dismiss the story as "fake news" in an Instagram video.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police has now released a statement confirming a sexual assault case from 2009 has been reopened, although it did not name the victim or any suspects.

"The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to a call of a sexual assault on June 13, 2009," read a statement released to Omnisport .

"At the time the report was taken, the victim did not provide detectives with the location of the incident or suspect description. A medical exam was conducted."

"As of September 2018, the case has been reopened and our detectives are following up on information being provided by the victim. This is an on-going investigation and no further details will be released at this time."

Ronaldo's legal team described Der Spiegel' s report as "blatantly illegal" and confirmed that it will pursue action against the publication for "inadmissible reporting of suspicions in the area of privacy".

Ronaldo joined Juventus from Real Madrid in July in a €112million deal, after spending nine years with the Spanish giant.