Real Madrid to sue Portuguese newspaper over Ronaldo claims
The Portuguese newspaper said that one of Ronaldo's legal arguments in the rape allegation case will be that Real Madrid forced him to reach agreement with Kathryn Mayorga in 2009.
Real Madrid have announced that they will take legal action against a Portuguese newspaper for reports that they forced Cristiano Ronaldo into reaching a settlement with a woman who accused him of raping her in the United States in 2009.
Correio da Manhã reported that Real Madrid forced Ronaldo into reaching an agreement with Kathryn Mayorga to ensure he kept his image clean having arrived from Manchester United that summer for a then world record fee of €100 million.
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The Portuguese newspaper said that one of the main arguments Ronaldo will use in his defence is that Real Madrid forced him to come to the agreement with the American woman and that the lawyers for the Portuguese star and Real Madrid met many times in order to come up with the best strategy to respond to the case.
His lawyer released a statement on Wednesday night and said that the "Far from any admission of guilt or any ulterior motive, Mr. Ronaldo was advised to privately resolve the allegations against him in order to avoid the inevitable attempts that are now being made to destroy a reputation that has been built upon hard work, athleticism and honour.
Real Madrid's statement in full
Real Madrid C. F. can today announce that the club has taken legal action against the Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manhã for publishing categorically false information in an effort to seriously damage the image of this club.
Real Madrid has absolutely no knowledge of any of the information that the newspaper published with regard to the player Cristiano Ronaldo, and therefore the club was unable to take action on a matter of which it had no knowledge.
Real Madrid has demanded total rectification of the situation from the aforementioned newspaper.