Ronaldo rape case thrown out by judge

A US judge has thrown out a multi-million-dollar rape lawsuit against Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The footballer had already paid £302,000 in a settlement and confidentiality agreement with the woman who claimed he attacked her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009. Ronaldo, 37, has always vehemently denied her claims.

The civil lawsuit had sought a further payout – potentially worth millions – but US District Judge Jennifer Dorsey kicked it out of court to punish the woman’s lawyer, Leslie Stovall.

The judge said the lawyer had used stolen documents – which were leaked on the internet and allegedly contained confidential conversations between Ronaldo and his legal team – and woven them into her case, which ‘tainted it beyond redemption’.

Ronaldo’s lawyers said the star had met the woman in a hotel nightclub and they had consensual sex in his room.