Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world's richest and most famous soccer players, was accused of rape of a woman in 2009. The case was settled out of court.
The investigative exposé was published by the very reputable German newspaper, "Der Spiegel." Ronaldo has not yet made any public statements regarding the release of this information.
Rape allegations
On April 14, "Der Spiegel" reported for the first time that Ronaldo was accused of rape by a young woman, named "Susan K." for privacy reasons. Jorge Mendes, Ronaldo's adviser, and right-hand man dismissed the story as "journalistic fiction" which was based on unsigned documents and where the parties were not identified.
However, today the German newspaper provided concrete evidence in the form of documents which clearly identify Ronaldo's name and signature, as well as the details of the rape allegations. In the documents, which were signed by the soccer star, he has a code name "Topher." The alleged rape was committed in Las Vegas, with the victim claiming Ronaldo anally raped her.
Financial settlement
"Der Spiegel" also obtained text messages between Ronaldo and his lawyer, Osório de Castro. The texts show that Ronaldo was very interested in the details of the agreement. When de Castro texted Ronaldo with just "959,000 dollars", he replied: "That's the amount?" De Castro responded with: "That is the first demand: That's 660,000 euros.
We won't accept it. The negotiations are continuing." The lawyer also added that the original amount asked was too much and thought he could settle for less.
In response to the original article Ronaldo's adviser, Jorge Mendes, sought to discredit the presumed victim and said that Susan K. "refuses to come forward and confirm the veracity of the accusation." However, this is very deceitful, as the legal settlement prohibits K.
from talking about the case in public. Also, if she does speak out publicly, she will be ordered to pay back the original amount she received from Ronaldo, as well as possible damages.
The amount paid by the soccer star, in the end, came to just $375,000. Cristiano Ronaldo currently plays for Real Madrid, earns $43 million a year and owns a private plane.
Susan K. did not want to press charges due to his celebrity and was afraid something would happen to her. On the day of the alleged crime, K. called the police who took her to a hospital, where she was examined for injuries. The examination documents, also obtained by the newspaper, confirm that she was raped.