In a recent development, a US court is set to hear arguments aiming to reopen a civil lawsuit seeking millions of dollars in damages from football icon Cristiano Ronaldo. The initial case, opened in 2018 and dismissed in June 2022, is now under scrutiny as Kathryn Mayorga, the accuser, alleges a breach of a confidentiality agreement from 2010.
Mayorga, who has chosen to be identified publicly, claims that the Portuguese star assaulted her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009. Ronaldo, consistently asserting that the encounter was consensual, reached a confidentiality agreement with Mayorga in 2010, where she reportedly received $375,000 (£305,000).
Despite the case being reopened by Las Vegas prosecutors in 2018, a year later, it was concluded that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations. Now, Mayorga’s legal team is contesting the dismissal, arguing that the federal court judge in Nevada erred in rejecting the confidentiality agreement as evidence.
The plaintiff is seeking $25 million (£20.6m) in damages, and a panel of three judges will hear verbal arguments from both sides in a special sitting in Las Vegas. The outcome of the hearing will determine whether the civil case against Cristiano Ronaldo will be reopened.
