Cristiano Ronaldo news: Juventus star opens up about rape allegations against him

What's the story?

Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo has opened up about the rape allegations levelled against him by a woman named Kathryn Mayorga.

In case you didn't know...

According to German media outlet DerSpeigel, Mayorga accused the former Los Blancos star of raping her in June 2009. The incident reportedly took place when Ronaldo was out holidaying with his cousin and brother-in-law in Las Vegas.

According to Mayorga, the Bianconeri star paid her $375,000 in return for her silence and even forced her to sign a non-disclosure agreement. While Ronaldo and his lawyer Schertz Bergmann Rechtsanwälte have denied the allegations, Las Vegas police have reopened an investigation into the matter.

In a statement, the police said, "The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to a call of a sexual assault on June 13, 2009."

"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."

The heart of the matter

After his family vehemently defended him, Ronaldo has now opened up about the allegations and what his and his family's initial reactions were.

The former Manchester United ace told Portuguese newspaper Record, (via The Mirror), "It hurt me to see my family upset about the news. But they know I would never be able to do that. I was completely calm and very confident that soon everything will be clear."

The 33-year-old previously denied the allegations in a statement on Twitter saying, "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."

"My clear conscience will thereby allow me to await with tranquility the results of any and all investigations."

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

My clear conscious will thereby allow me to await with tranquillity the results of any and all investigations.

— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) October 3, 2018

What's next?

The investigation is still ongoing and it remains to be seen how the case will pan out.