Football news - Cristiano Ronaldo releases statement denying rape allegation

An American woman has sued Ronaldo and is participating in a police investigation of the star for an alleged rape at a Las Vegas hotel in 2009, according to a complaint filed by her lawyer.

The 33-year-old rejected the allegation on Wednesday.

“I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me. Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in,” Ronaldo said on Twitter.

"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 tranquillity the results of any and all investigations.”

Kathryn Mayorga sued Ronaldo in a district court in Clark County, Nevada last Thursday, and is also seeking to void a $375,000 (£333,000) settlement she alleges she was coerced into signing to keep quiet, according to the complaint seen by Reuters and according to Mayorga's lawyer.

The lawsuit contends that Ronaldo met Mayorga at a Las Vegas nightclub in June 2009 and the next night invited a group of people, including Mayorga, back to the penthouse suite where he was staying.

That night, the lawsuit alleges, Ronaldo asked the woman to perform a sexual act on him in a bathroom as she was changing into attire to wear in a hot tub. He then pulled her into a bedroom and raped her as she screamed "no, no, no," the lawsuit said.

"When Cristiano Ronaldo completed the sexual assault of the plaintiff, he allowed her to leave the bedroom stating he was sorry, he was usually a gentleman," the lawsuit said.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police on Monday said an incident report with the number listed in Mayorga's lawsuit was filed on the night of the alleged attack, and said the case was reopened last month after the unidentified victim came forward with new information. They declined to say whether the athlete was the subject of an investigation.

Lawyers for the Portuguese athlete said in a statement on Friday they would sue German magazine Der Spiegel after it published "blatantly illegal" accusations by Mayorga. They did not respond to specific questions about the content of the Der Spiegel report.