Ronaldo denies rape allegation

Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has "firmly" denied raping a woman in a US hotel room almost a decade ago.

The Juventus forward, 33, said he was calm over "any and all investigations" as he had a "clear" conscience over the allegation he attacked Kathryn Mayorga in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009.

He spoke out ahead of her lawyers giving a press conference on Wednesday.

He had previously said the allegation, first reported in German magazine Der Spiegel, was "fake news".

On Wednesday, he issued a statement through his Twitter account:

"I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me. Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in. 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 conscious will thereby allow me to await with tranquillity the results of any and all investigations."

Der Spiegel said Ms Mayorga, 34, had filed a report with Las Vegas police shortly after the alleged incident.

But the next year, she reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo involving a $375,000 (£288,000) payment for agreeing never to go public with the allegations.

Her lawyers are now seeking to declare the non-disclosure agreement void.

Las Vegas police confirmed on Tuesday they had initially investigated a complaint in June 2009, but added they had no suspect in the case.

"At the time the report was taken, the victim did not provide detectives with the location of the incident or suspect description," a statement said.

"As of September 2018, the case has been reopened and our detectives are following up on information being provided," it added.

Ronaldo's lawyers have previously said they will sue Der Spiegel magazine over its reporting.