Cristiano Ronaldo was accused of rape in Las Vegas in 2009 and paid the alleged victim $375,000 to keep it secret, according to a civil complaint filed in a Nevada court last week.
Kathryn Mayorga, 34, attended a party in Ronaldo's hotel suite on the night the attack allegedly took place, according to a story in German news magazine Der Spiegel.
Last night, the Juventus forward dismissed the claims as "fake news" on Instagram: "What they said today: fake, fake news. They want to be famous, to say my name. It’s part of the job. I’m a happy man and all good."
The Portugal international's lawyers have indicated their intention to sue Der Spiegel for its "blatantly illegal" reporting.
Back in 2009, the summer that Ronaldo joined Real Madrid from Manchester United, he was on holiday in the US when the alleged attack took place.
He met Ms Mayorga at Rain nightclub in the Palms Hotel and Casino, and was photographed speaking to her before inviting the Las Vegas native and some of her friends to a party in his suite at the same hotel.
Ms Mayorga told Der Spiegel that the #MeToo movement is part of the reason she is now speaking out and her lawyer believes the non disclosure agreement is no longer valid as Ronaldo's lawyers, "knowing that the plaintiff was a ‘vulnerable person’... repeatedly threatened to falsely and publicly accuse the plaintiff of consenting to sexual intercourse with the defendant in order to accuse the defendant of sexual assault to obtain money".
Ronaldo is one of the biggest names in world sport. He has been named player of the year five times and transferred to Juventus from Real Madrid this summer for €100 million.
