Lawyers representing football star Cristiano Ronaldo are set to return to court today in a legal battle over the hush money he paid in 2010 to a woman who accused him of raping her.

The player had paid Kathryn Mayorga – who has waived her right to anonymity – $375,000 (£275,000) in hush money.

She had alleged he raped her in a Las Vegas hotel room in June 2009 – which he vehemently denied.

A lawsuit seeking a further payout was dismissed in June last year by US District Judge Jennifer Dorsey over bad-faith conduct and the use of stolen confidential documents.

But on Wednesday, a US appeals court will hear from lawyers trying to revive Ms Mayorga’s bid to force Ronaldo to pay millions more.

Her legal team is asking the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the dismissal of the case and reopen the civil lawsuit she first filed in Nevada in 2018.

They will argue the federal court judge in Nevada erred in repeatedly rejecting Ms Mayorga’s attempts to unseal and include as evidence the confidentiality agreement she signed in 2010 in accepting payments from Ronaldo.

In a statement released in October 2018, Ronaldo said: “I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me. Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in.”

His legal team has stated the sexual encounter was consensual and that a confidentiality agreement prevents both his team and Ms Mayorga from talking about it.

Read more world news:
Tupac’s brother says murder unsolved because of his race
Two children among dead after coach crash
Is Saudi Arabia a genuine threat to Premier League?
Ronaldo is world’s highest-paid athlete

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Ronaldo, 38, who has played for Real Madrid, Juventus, and Manchester United, now plays for the Saudi Arabian team Al Nassr FC.

He is reported to be on a £177m-a-year deal at Al Nassr – the biggest in football history.

Related posts:

‘It’s one and done’: Single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine cleared in the US ‘Hurtful and wrong’: Six Dr Seuss books to cease publication over racist imagery US Justice Department says it will no longer secretly seize reporters’ records New York declares US’s first ‘disaster emergency’ on gun crime as shooting deaths overtake COVID CNN fires Chris Cuomo for helping governor brother who faced sexual harassment claims Wildfires break carbon emission records in US, Siberia, and Turkey, as climate change fans intense blazes, says EU US imposes ‘Russia-like’ sanctions on Ireland’s notorious Kinahan crime gang Trump suing CNN as he claims defamation – and seeks $475m in damages Kansas City Chiefs fight back to narrowly beat Philadelphia Eagles in classic Super Bowl ‘One dead and multiple injuries’ after shooting at US university – suspect ‘on foot’ ‘Bad Spaniels’ dog toy cannot mimic Jack Daniel’s, Supreme Court rules Super Bowl winner killed in New York plane crash