Cristiano Ronaldo denies 2009 rape allegation

Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo has denied an allegation he raped a woman in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009.

Source: Getty Images

German magazine, Der Spiegel, published an in-depth article over the weekend claiming American woman Kathryn Mayorga reported the alleged sexual assault to police in 2009. 

In 2010, according to the report, Ronaldo and Mayorga reached an out-of-court settlement involving a $375,000 ($520,200) payment "to never talk about her accusations that Cristiano Ronaldo had raped her."

Ronaldo dismissed the accusations as "fake news" in a video on Instagram.

"They want to promote [themselves] by [using] my name. It's normal," said Ronaldo. 

Ronaldo's lawyer Christian Schertz also responded in a statement by saying "the reporting in Spiegel is blatantly illegal".

He added that he had been instructed to seek compensation for "moral damages" over "probably one of the most serious violations of personal rights in recent years". 

In Nevada the criminal code states that if a sexual assault was documented by police, there is no statute of limitations.

Ronaldo is suspended for Juventus' next match against Young Boys in the Champions League this week, and is expected to next play against Udinese on Sunday.