Cristiano Ronaldo says he’s ‘very confident’ he’ll ‘soon’ be cleared of raping Kathryn Mayorga in Las Vegas hotel
CRISTIANO Ronaldo has revealed he is "very confident" he will be cleared over the high-profile rape allegation which has haunted him for months.
The Juventus star says he expects to hear "soon" that he will not face any charge over the alleged sex attack on former model Kathryn Mayorga in Las Vegas in 2009.
The star - who has maintained his innocence since the allegation first broke - told Portuguese media he expects his ordeal to come to an end soon.
"It hurt me to see my family upset about the news, but they know I would never be able to do that," he told the Record newspaper.
"I was completely calm and very confident that soon everything will be clear," he added.
After Miss Mayorga filed her civil lawsuit in September , Las Vegas cops confirmed they had reopened their criminal investigation into the alleged historic sex assault.
Then in October, the Portuguese striker tweeted to say he firmly denied the shocking allegation laid against him.
"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," he said.
He followed that tweet with a further message, saying he had a completely "clear conscience."
The 34-year-old alleges the £100million Portuguese footballer raped her in a Las Vegas hotel room nine years ago.
Ronaldo strongly denies the claims — calling them "fake news" — and says the sex was consensual.
The alleged rape is said to have happened in the early hours of June 13, 2009.
At the time of the alleged attack, Ronaldo, then 24, was in Las Vegas on holiday with his brother-in-law and cousin.
Budding model Ms Mayorga, then 25, was working in Rain nightclub, inside the Palms Casino Resort and met the star in the venue’s VIP area.
Legal papers seen by The Sun state: “Cristiano Ronaldo pulled the plaintiff into a bedroom and on to a bed and attempted to engage in sexual intercourse.”
It said the plaintiff refused, tried to cover herself and was screaming: “No, no, no”.
It adds: “When Cristiano Ronaldo completed the sexual assault, he allowed her to leave the bedroom stating he was sorry, he was usually a gentleman.”
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Ronaldo reportedly previously agreed to pay Ms Mayorga £287,000 to stop her pursuing criminal charges — which could have seen him jailed for life — and gagged her from going public.
Las Vegas police previously said they aim to question Ronaldo about the allegation.
A Las Vegas Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We certainly do not know yet when it will happen… but at some point, we will have to listen to him.”