Portugal’s prime minister has defended under fire Cristiano Ronaldo over claims he raped a former model in a Las Vegas penthouse.
Antonio Costa and Cristiano Ronaldo
Antonio Costa called the global star “extraordinary” before pointing out the 33-year-old Juventus ace has yet to be found guilty of any crimes.
He said: “People need to understand one and for all that there’s one thing, that is presumption of innocence. It is not enough for someone to be accused of something to be guilty of it.
“If there’s something we have proof of is that he is an extraordinary professional, an extraordinary sportsman, an extraordinary footballer, and someone who has honoured and given prestige to Portugal, and certainly what we all wish for is that nothing can ever stain that record of Ronaldo.”
Kathryn Mayorga, 34, claims the £100million Portuguese footballer raped her in a Las Vegas hotel room in the early hours of June 13, 2009.
At the time, Ronaldo, then 24, was on holiday with his brother-in-law and cousin.
The Juventus star has labelled the allegations by Ms Mayorga as “fake news”, but was filmed “dancing intimately” with her hours before the alleged assault.
Lawyers for Ronaldo have threatened to sue Der Spiegel – who first revealed the American beauty’s allegations – over the “blatantly illegal” claims.
The Juventus star also hit back at the slurs himself, telling his followers during an Instagram live video: “No, no, no, no, no. What they said today? Fake, fake news.
“They want to promote (themselves by using) my name. It’s normal. They want to be famous to say my name, but it is part of the job. I am a happy man and all good.”