Lawyers for the woman accusing Cristiano Ronaldo of raping her want the FBI to investigate whether his “fixers” in the UK illegally persuaded her not to press charges.
Kathryn Mayorga’s legal team claim the Juventus striker spent around $1,000,000 on “personal reputation protection specialists”.
They were employed in the UK, US and Portugal to discredit her and her claims that she was sexually assaulted by the footballer in Las Vegas in 2009, according to her lawyer Leslie Stovall.
The team is accused of following Ms Mayorga, 34, to build up a secret dossier on her life while also allegedly cultivating a “confidential source” at the Las Vegas police department.
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Mr Stovall claims the “fixers” coerced the former model into accepting £288,000 never to discuss the alleged assault in Ronaldo’s £775-a-night suite at the Palms Palace.
Papers handed to the lawyer by whistleblowing website Football Leaks allegedly detail the star’s use of the reputation managers. Mr Stovall has already complained to Las Vegas police and now wants the FBI, Scotland Yard and Portuguese police to investigate.
He told the Mirror: “I’m going to refer the documents [to investigators] to determine whether or not they have [committed] any criminal offences… conspiracy to obstruct, obstruction, criminal fraud and criminal libel.”
Last week Ms Mayorga tried to overturn her 2010 non-disclosure deal, arguing she was bullied into signing it.
#Juventus bad call on #Ronaldo I think they should not play him this week but club know best. I would kick him out of club. Or any player, cannot and would not defend his actions, terrible for poor girl.
— thesoccercoach (@thesoccercoach1) October 6, 2018
Ronaldo, 33, has repeatedly denied Ms Mayorga’s claims. He tweeted: “I firmly deny the accusations… 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 conscience will allow me to await with tranquillity the results of investigations.”
But a nine-year-old allegation of rape against the five-time Ballon d’Or winner could bring his carefully cultivated empire crashing to the ground.
Ronaldo’s extraordinary talents and eye for goal once made him the world’s most expensive footballer and this summer he moved to Juventus for £100million — a record for a player over 30.
But the bulk of his wealth comes from being one of the most marketable athletes on the planet — with 31 endorsement deals signed in the last 15 years including a $1billion “lifetime” contract with Nike.
But the sportswear giant this week said they are “deeply concerned” by the accusations he faces and are monitoring the situation.
Herbalife, TAG Heuer, Emirates airline, Toyota, KFC Arabia, PanzerGlass and oil giants Castrol are among other firms linked to him.