Kathryn Mayorga, the woman accusing Cristiano Ronaldo of raping her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009 has now set a demands. According to court documents released this week, the former model and schoolteacher from Henderson, Nevada is seeking £56million ($77.4m, 64.5 EUR) in punitive damages.
Ronaldo has strongly and consistently denied the serious allegations against him. The case became public knowledge in October of 2018, when it was reopened at the request of Mayorga’s attorney. In July of 2019, a judge ruled that Ronaldo would not face criminal charges.
Last fall the civil case escalated, and more public attention was brought to it. On Thursday the Mirror reported the full details reagrding the damages being sought by the 37-year-old American. Mayorga is seeking £18m for “past pain and suffering,” another £18m for “future pain and suffering” and £18m in punitive damages.
Additionally, you £1.4m, which covers legal fees of £1.1m. That brings the grand cumulative total is £56.5m, which is more than two years salary for the Portugese superstar. Juventus pays Ronaldo £26m per year.
Both legal teams have publicly acknowledged that in 2010 Mayorga accepted £270,000 from Ronaldo in a non-disclosure agreement.
However, the civil suit filed in Vegas claims that she had been“mentally incapacitated” at the time, and was therefore unable to sign a legally binding NDA.
Ronaldo was 24 and Mayorga 27 at the time of the incident. Mayorga’s legal team is seeking the testimony of 60 witnesses. The list includes Juventus club chair Andrea Agnelli (one of the ringleaders of the European Super League proposal), Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes and his adviser Andy Quinn.
Mayorga is not doing media interviews and only speaking publicly on the matter through her attorney. Ronaldo has tried to speak of the case and the incident as little as possible, understandably so, and he explained why.
“I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me,” he said.
“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.”
While nobody can say for certain how this serious saga will end, what we do know is that this story isn’t going away any time soon.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.