Cristiano Ronaldo news: 'It is not surprising that DNA would be present': Juventus star's lawyers respond to DNA warrant

What's the story?

Cristiano Ronaldo's lawyers have responded to reports of a DNA warrant issued against the Juventus star in relation to the rape allegations levelled against him by Kathryn Mayorga.

In case you didn't know...

Last year, Ronaldo was accused of rape by former model Mayorga, who told German media outlet Der Speigel that the 33-year-old footballer had raped her in a Las Vegas hotel on June 2009, when he was on holiday with his cousin and brother-in-law in the United States.

Mayorga also claimed that the former Los Blancos star coerced her into signing a non-disclosure agreement and to accept a $375,000 price for her silence.

Las Vegas police have since reopened the investigation and have even gone on to issue a warrant for the Juventus star's DNA.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said (via ESPN), "The LVMPD is taking the same steps in this case as in any other sexual assault to facilitate the collection of DNA evidence", adding that the warrant has been sent to authorities in Italy, where Ronaldo currently plays.

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Ronaldo himself has repeatedly denied the allegations, initially in a set of tweets and later in a number of interviews.

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

My clear conscious will thereby allow me to await with tranquillity the results of any and all investigations.
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) October 3, 2018

The heart of the matter

Ronaldo's legal team have responded to the DNA warrant, reiterating the Juventus star's defence when he said what took place in Las Vegas was consensual.

In a statement issued to the BBC, Ronaldo's lawyer Peter S. Christiansen said, "Mr. Ronaldo has always maintained, as he does today, that what occurred in Las Vegas in 2009 was consensual in nature."

Christiansen added that it was not surprising for the police to ask for a DNA sample and for them to actually find some as well.

"So it is not surprising that DNA would be present, nor that the police would make this very standard request as part of their investigation."

What's next?

As the investigation is ongoing, it remains to be seen what the results of the DNA test will be and how it will affect the process.