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Soccer Star Cristiano Ronaldo Calls Rape Allegation 'Fake News'

A Las Vegas woman is seeking to have a nondisclosure agreement thrown out.

Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has denied a rape allegation from 2009 that was reported in Germany’s weekly news publication Der Spiegel on Friday.

“What they said today: Fake, fake news,” Ronaldo, 33, said in a video posted on Instagram. “They want to promote by my name. It’s normal. They want to be famous. It’s part of the job. I’m a happy man and all good.”

Der Spiegel said that Kathryn Mayorga of Las Vegas accused him of raping her nine years ago, when she was 25, in a hotel room. She said that she had agreed to an out-of-court settlement with him in which she was paid $375,000 and she agreed not to talk about her accusation.

Mayorga, now 34, has a new lawyer and the Las Vegas police have reopened the case, according to news reports. She has also filed a civil suit to have the nondisclosure agreement thrown out.

Ronaldo’s lawyer, Christian Schertz, says the soccer star plans to sue Der Spiegel for “moral damages.”

Schertz told BBC News that Der Spiegel’s reporting was “blatantly illegal” and “probably one of the most serious violations of personal rights in recent years.”

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.