Six months ago, Cristiano Ronaldo was accused of rape. Here's why the case is in legal limbo.

Cristiano Ronaldo is doing so well in his career as a professional footballer right now, the media have started calling him the best player in the history of the sport.

On Tuesday night, he almost single handedly took his Italian team Juventus to victory in their Champions League clash against Madrid.

But the 34-year-old is also in the middle of a fierce legal battle, accused of raping American woman Katherine Mayorga, 34, in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009.

Six months ago his alleged victim filed a lawsuit against him and the crime was re-investigated, but since then things have been unsettlingly quiet.

Here’s everything we know.

Here is the trailer Cristiano Ronaldo’s documentary, the world famous sportsman.

In 2009, the initial police investigation was closed, when Mayorga refused to name her attacker.

But the story managed to make it out of the woodwork seven years later, when German magazine Der Spiegel published the story, getting most of their information from a hacking group known as Football Leaks, which exposes the murky underworld of international soccer business transactions.

In September 2018 the case was reopened, and Mayorga not only named Ronaldo, but claimed he had paid her AUD $528,000 to keep quiet after intimidating her with private investigators. She filed a civil lawsuit, separate to the criminal investigation.

She told the same magazine that broke the story about the violent details of the alleged rape. She claimed Ronaldo assaulted her and anally raped her while she screamed no, and left her suffering depression and PTSD in the years since.

Her lawyer got around the non-disclosure agreement she’d signed, because Ronaldo never actually read it, which is a requirement of the agreement.

Der Speigel also unearthed documents including one in which Ronaldo described the 2009 encounter to his lawyer as ‘rude’ admitting Mayorga “said no and stop several times.”

Ronaldo’s lawyers have denied all allegations and the existence of the aforementioned document. Ronaldo took to Instagram Live to deny the “fake news” saying it was “normal that someone would wanna be famous to say my name.”

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.

— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) October 3, 2018

Six months after Mayorga’s lawsuit and the police re-investigation, charges still haven’t been filed against the Portuguese national. In fact, there have been barely any updates. Which seems bizarre given the alleged offender is one of  the most famous sportsmen in the world.

It is a disquieting limbo.

While Mayorga continues to suffer from depression and significant fallout from the story, Ronaldo has been scoring goals, winning games and celebrating with his team. He continues to post photos of his family to his 156 million followers on Instagram.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Uno per tutti e tutti per uno #finoallafine

A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) on Mar 12, 2019 at 5:44pm PDT

 

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❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) on Jan 7, 2019 at 9:22am PST

His sponsors Nike and EA Sports, said they were concerned about the allegations, but it appears to be business as usual for them too.

He hasn’t actually even been served Mayorga’s lawsuit yet. Because he lives abroad it has made it all the more tricky, reports ESPN. Serving a lawsuit overseas requires following a certain set of rules that are outlined in international treaties. Ronaldo hasn’t authorised his American attorney to accept it on his behalf…and so he just hasn’t got it yet.

They haven’t been able to serve the lawsuit in Italy where he lives either. Mayorga’s lawyers have asked the court if they can leave the paperwork at his club’s training centre or issue it via public notification (in local papers) instead of handing it to him.

But every attempt to serve Ronaldo has been intercepted.

“A rich defendant can wear down a plaintiff with lesser means. It’s a delaying tactic, and it’s a calculated strategy,” legal commentator Abed Awad told ESPN.

The criminal investigation has also slowed, with the only recent update being LA police issuing a warrant for a DNA sample from the star in January.

The warrant was sent to the court system in Italy. What became of it is unknown two months on.

Ronaldo’s lawyer did release a statement that said it wouldn’t be surprising if his DNA was present, because the pair had “consensual sex.”

And so we wait, and Katherine Mayorga waits – for an outcome and some answers.

Meantime, Ronaldo will continue to make headlines for being a “superstar”, “incredible sportsman”, and the “best player in the game.”

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