EXPLAINER: CRISTIANO RONALDO RAPE CASE AMID MAN UNITED RETURN

One of football’s GOATs (Greatest of All Time), Cristiano Ronaldo, is expected to make his second debut for Manchester United this weekend, following his deadline deal to leave Italian giant Juventus.

Amid that fanfare is a furious legal drama stewing in the background: a case of a rape allegation. The UK. Independent explained how it all unfolded. In an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, Kathryn Mayorga publicly accused Ronaldo of raping her in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009.

Who is Kathryn Mayorga?

Mayorga is a former school teacher and model from Las Vegas.

What are the allegations against Ronaldo?

Ronaldo and Mayorga met at Rain on June 12, 2009. On June 13, Mayorga reported the alleged sexual assault to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police

Department.

What action was taken at the time?

Mayorga subsequently hired a lawyer, who advised reaching an out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo rather than pressing criminal charges.

What was the result? In January 2010, mediation between Ronaldo and Mayorga’s legal teams resulted in the two parties reaching a non-disclosure agreement. Ronaldo settled to pay $375,000 (around £270,000) to Mayorga, who could not publicly discuss the allegations in return.

How did the allegations come out? The allegations against Ronaldo first surfaced in April 2017, based on documents uncovered and supplied to Der Spiegel by the Football Leaks project.

What is currently happening with the case?

In October 2020, US district judge Jennifer Dorsey said she would rule on whether Mayorga “lacked the mental capacity to assent to the settlement agreement.”

A date is yet to be set for the hearing. Earlier this year, The Mirror reported that Mayorga is seeking a total of £56.5m in damages. In June, Ronaldo’s lawyers asked for the case to be dismissed, arguing that the Football Leaks documents were “stolen.”