Cristiano Ronaldo dismisses rape allegations as ‘fake news’

Juventus’ Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo reacts at the end of the Italian Serie A football match Juventus vs Napoli on September 29, 2018 at the Juventus stadium in Turin. / AFP PHOTO / Marco BERTORELLO

Cristiano Ronaldo has appeared to dismiss as “fake news” a U.S. woman’s claims he raped her in Las Vegas in 2009, reports irishtimes.com.

In an Instagram live with followers, the Juventus star said: “No, no, no, no, no. What they said today? Fake, fake news.”

It was not immediately clear to which follower’s question he was responding.

But on Saturday Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine published a 9,000-word report revealing the woman at the centre of the allegations.

“They want to promote [themselves by using] my name. It’s normal,” said Ronaldo.

“They want to be famous to say my name, but it is part of the job. I am a happy man and all good.”

Lawyers for the footballer have denied the rape claim and said they would sue Der Spiegel for what they dubbed “one of the most serious violations of personal rights in recent years”.

In the report Kathryn Mayorga, a 34-year-old Las Vegas native, claimed she met the player in a Las Vegas nightclub in June 2009.

Later in his hotel penthouse she claims he raped her anally.

He invited her and a friend up to a party, Mayorga claims, and attacked her in a bathroom. First he asked her for a kiss then she alleges he “touched me all over . . . I pushed him away and again said ‘no’.

“When he was finished he still didn’t want to let me go,” she said. “He looked at me, full of guilt, and started calling me ‘baby’.

I can’t remember exactly what he said but he said sorry, asking if I had pain.

Then he went down on his knees and said: ‘99 per cent of me is a good guy, I just don’t know about the other one per cent.’ ”