Summons issued by Ronaldo accuser in alleged rape case

In a press conference on Wednesday night in Las Vegas, attorneys for the accuser announced that the 33-year-old will have 20 days to answer

Attorneys for Kathryn Mayorga, the American woman who has accused Cristiano Ronaldo of rape after an encounter in 2009, have announced that a "summons has been issued and we have sent the summons and complaint for service" to the Juventus star.

German media outlet Der Spiegel reported on Friday that Mayorga had claimed Ronaldo sexually assaulted her in a hotel room nine years ago.

Police in Las Vegas have reopened the case and said in a statement reported by the BBC: "At the time the report was taken, the victim did not provide detectives with the location of the incident or suspect description.

"As of September 2018, the case has been reopened and our detectives are following up on information being provided."

Ronaldo has "firmly denied" the allegations, saying in part: "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."

His lawyer, Christian Schertz, said: "The reporting in Spiegel is blatantly illegal."

He reportedly added that he had been instructed to seek compensation for "moral damages" over "probably one of the most serious violations of personal rights in recent years".

Ms Mayorga, 34, is reported to have filed a rape report with Las Vegas police after the alleged incident.

She claims to have reached an out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo in 2010 involving a $375,000 (£288,000) payment for agreeing never to go public with the accusations. Her representatives said they would be seeking "declaratory relief that the plaintiff be excused for performance under the settlement and non-disclosure agreement due to the defendant's breach" against the 33-year-old while laying out the charges in the lawsuit.

According to one representative for Ms Mayorga, attorney Larissa Drohobyczer: "A summons has been issued and we have sent the summons and complaint for service upon Cristiano Ronaldo.

"Cristiano Ronaldo will have 20 days from the date of service of the lawsuit to answer our complaint in Kathryn Mayorga's case."