Cristiano Ronaldo was today missing from training two days after bombshell rape claims came to light. He did not join his Juventus team-mates at their Turin base as he fights explosive allegations that he sexually assaulted a model in Las Vegas in 2009.
The £100million Portuguese footballer, 33, vehemently denies the claims made by Kathryn Mayorga, 34, which emerged in German magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday.
His training no-show comes ahead of Juve’s Champions League group stage clash with Young Boys in Bern, Switzerland tomorrow.
It is not clear if former Real Madrid and Manchester United ace is being rested after receiving a one-match ban following a red card against Valencia last week.
But he did start in Juventus’ 3-1 victory over Serie A rivals Napoli on Saturday — the same day Der Spiegel published the staggering rape claims.
The report stated that ex-model Ms Mayorga was paid £287,000 in 2010 to stop her pursuing criminal charges or going public over the alleged assault at the Palms Casino Resort suite a year earlier.
The superstar denies rape and insists the sex was consensual — calling the claims “fake news”.
Ms Mayorga’s lawyers are now trying to overturn the court settlement and she has spoken out for the first time.