Cristiano Ronaldo was also accused of tax fraud by the Spanish government last year. (Source: Reuters)The rape lawsuit against Portugal and Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo has been dropped, according to a report on Bloomberg.The lawsuit was filed by Katheryn Mayorga in September 2018, alleging Ronaldo of sexual harassment and rape in a penthouse in the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, in June 2009 when he had recently moved to Spanish giants Real Madrid. Ronaldo was in the USA for a pre-season tour.
However, it has been revealed that Mayorga and her legal team recently dropped the charges made against the striker, filing a notice of voluntary dismissal last month. His legal team has not made a response to this news yet.
Mayorga had opened up publicly after nearly 10 years of silence regarding the matter, stating Ronaldo’s ‘fixers’ offered her $375,000 as pay-off – but allegations were made as early as 2017 by German outlet Der Spiegel.
Ronaldo publicly denied the allegations, stating his ‘conscience was clear,’ but faced repercussions as Nike dropped his merchandise temporarily and e-sports developers EA Sports replaced him on the cover of their widely-grossing game FIFA 19.
Las Vegas police had opened an investigation following the allegations, requesting Italian police for a sample of Ronaldo’s DNA.
This news follows recent allegations made against Brazil and Paris Saint-Germain star man Neymar Jr. in previous weeks.
