Brazilian footballer Neymar said that Nike's claim it parted ways with him last year over an employee's accusation he sexually assaulted her was an "absurd lie".
"(To) state that my contract was terminated because I did not contribute in good faith to an investigation, is an absurd lie," the Paris Saint-Germain star said in a statement on Instagram, a day after the allegation emerged.
Nike said it ended its partnership with Neymar because he refused to cooperate in an investigation into sexual assault allegations.
The world's largest sportswear maker said in a statement it viewed the allegations about an incident in 2016 as "credible", but also said an independent investigation it commissioned was inconclusive.
"No single set of facts emerged that would enable us to speak substantively on the matter. It would be inappropriate for Nike to make an accusatory statement without being able to provide supporting facts," it said.
Neymar's spokeswoman earlier said the athlete would vigorously defend himself if any claim is presented, describing the allegations as baseless and adding that the endorsement deal ended for commercial reasons.
"It is very strange a case that was supposed to have happened in 2016, with allegations by a Nike employee, come to light only at that moment," her statement said.
The statements follow a Wall Street Journal report about the investigation. Nike had previously not publicly given a reason for terminating the deal.
Nike said a female employee officially reported the incident to the company in 2018, coming forward in an internal forum.
While Nike was prepared to investigate at that time it respected her request to keep the matter confidential and did not investigate until she expressed an interest in 2019 in legally pursuing the matter, its statement said.
Neymar, the world's most expensive player, partnered with Puma in September.
The sportswear company declined to comment when asked by Reuters if the allegations affected the partnership.
He had been signed with Nike for 15 years when the deal ended.
The contract was terminated with eight years remaining, the Journal said, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Neymar was separately accused of rape in a Paris hotel in June 2019. Neymar has said the encounter with the woman, a Brazilian model, was consensual and accused her of attempting to extort him.
Brazilian authorities dropped that investigation against Neymar, citing lack of evidence, and later charged the model with slander, extortion and procedural fraud.
The slander and extortion charges were dismissed in 2019 and she was acquitted of the fraud charge in 2020.
