Cristiano Ronaldo has denied rape allegations leveled against him on Tuesday, saying his conscience was clear and that he would calmly await the results of any investigation.
"I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me. Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in," the world-famous footballer tweeted on his official page.
Screenshot from Cristiano Ronaldo's Twitter account
"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," he said.
Screenshot from Cristiano Ronaldo's Twitter account
"My clear conscious will thereby allow me to await with tranquility the results of any and all investigations."
Lawyers for Kathryn Mayorga, who sued Ronaldo in a district court in Clark county, Nevada, US on Thursday, said the soccer star has 20 days from the filing of the lawsuit to respond. Mayorga alleges that Ronaldo raped her in 2009 in a Las Vegas hotel penthouse suite.
Mayorga has left Las Vegas to escape the attention on her case, her lawyers said at a news conference on Wednesday, adding the assault has caused her severe mental and emotional damage. She was not at the news conference.
"She has decided not to make herself available to the media and stay out of the public because of her emotional state," attorney Leslie Stovall told the news conference, adding that "It is not pleasant for her."
Her lawyers said they are considering whether to release documents related to the case including police reports, medical records, and an out-of-court settlement that included a non-disclosure agreement about the incident.
Kathryn Mayorga's attorney Leslie Mark Stovall speaks on the rape accusation against Cristiano Ronaldo during a press conference in Las Vegas, US, October 3, 2018. /VCG Photo
Mayorga has also been seeking to void the 375,000 US dollars 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, which seeks more than 200,000 US dollars in damages, names as defendants Ronaldo and an unnamed team of fixers described as "personal reputation protection specialists" hired to make the situation go away.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said on Monday that 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. They declined to say whether the Portuguese footballer was the subject of an investigation.
Police had no immediate comment on Ronaldo's statement.
Ronaldo has missed the Champions League match against Young Boys following his one-game ban while he will play for Juventus against Udinese in Serie A on Saturday.