RONALDO’S REPS DENY RAPE ALLEGATIONS
They also deny claims he paid $375,000 to the woman in an out-of-court settlement.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s management company have strongly denied an extensive report on an allegation the Real Madrid superstar raped a woman in 2009, calling it “a piece of journalistic fiction”.
Citing documents from an alleged out-of-court settlement, German news outlet Der Spiegel reported that Ronaldo agreed to pay $375,000 to settle the allegation of rape in 2010, after an incident in Las Vegas the year before – just after the Portuguese moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid.
However, Gestifute, Ronaldo’s management company founded by ‘super-agent’ Jorge Mendes, refuted the “disgusting and outrageous accusation” and said the four-time Ballon d’Or winner would “do everything in his power” to clear his name.
n a statement, Gestifute said: “Today, the German newspaper Der Spiegel published a long article regarding an alleged accusation of rape that would have been directed at Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009, i.e. about 8 years ago.
“The article is nothing but a piece of journalistic fiction.
“The alleged victim refuses to come forward and confirm the veracity of the accusation. The newspaper has based their entire narrative on documents which are unsigned and where the parties are not identified, on emails between lawyers whose content does not concern Cristiano Ronaldo and whose authenticity he cannot verify, and on an alleged letter that is said to have been sent to him by the so-called victim, but was never received by Cristiano.
“The accusations reported by the Der Spiegel are false, and Cristiano Ronaldo will do everything in his power to react against these. An accusation of an act of rape is disgusting and outraging, and he will not allow it to hang over his reputation.”
According to Der Spiegel, who claim to know the identity of the alleged victim, Ronaldo’s lawyer agreed the $375,000 settlement in January 2010 and in return “The woman would keep her silence regarding events which happened on June 12, 2009, in a luxury hotel in Las Vegas.”
Diego Costa has revealed Jose Mourinho was the reason he decided to leave Atletico Madrid for Chelsea in 2014, as he prepares to take on the Portuguese’s Manchester United side on Sunday.
The Brazilian-born Spaniard fired Mourinho’s Blues to the Premier League title in his debut season and looks set to do so again for Antonio Conte this time around – despite suffering a tremendous drop in form last term, when Mourinho was sacked.
His sacking was believed to be because he could no longer motivate the players but Costa has admitted he owes a lot to Mourinho for how his career in England has panned out.
“In all honesty I always tell people I am grateful to Mourinho because he helped me a lot,” Costa told Sky Sports.
“As a player when you want to improve you always look for the best coach and Mourinho is one of the best.
“I wanted to come to Chelsea because of Mourinho. When I considered Chelsea I thought about the fact that Mourinho was here.
“He is a coach that demands a lot from his players, he wants the maximum.”
Costa has been linked with a move away from the Blues on numerous occasions this season, with a China or a return to Atletico Madrid the two most likely destinations should he leave Stamford Bridge.