Cristiano Ronaldo has firmly denied the rape accusations level against him by an American lady, Kathryn Mayorga.
Police in Las Vegas said they have reopened a sexual assault investigation from 2009 at the request of a woman who has alleged she was raped by Ronaldo.
But on Wednesday Ronaldo said all that was said about him is false.
He wrote on his twitter account: “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
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.
Mayorga claims she was attacked by the Portuguese footballer in a hotel room in the US city that year.
Juventus forward Ronaldo, 33, has dismissed the claim, first reported in Germany’s Der Spiegel, as “fake news”.
His representatives said he would take legal action against the magazine.
Der Spiegel said Ms Mayorga, 34, filed a report with Las Vegas police shortly after the alleged incident.
In 2010, she reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo involving a $375,000 (£288,000) payment for agreeing never to go public with the allegations.
Her lawyers are now seeking to declare the non-disclosure agreement void.
Las Vegas police confirmed they had investigated a complaint in June 2009, but added they had no suspect in the case.
