A Nevada judge recommended that the civil rape case made against five-time Ballan d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo must be thrown out of court. The Manchester United forward was accused of assaulting a woman at a Las Vegas hotel in 2009.

Ahead of Ronaldo’s then world-record £80m move from United to Madrid, a teacher-model, during an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel accused him of raping her. Although the 36-year-old has denied the allegations and in 2018 police concluded the claims “could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt”, he faces a civil suit. The woman has claimed damages. 

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However, Magistrate judge Daniel Albregts, who has reviewed the case before a separate judge makes a final decision, said the case should be dismissed. He further blamed the woman’s attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, for basing the case on leaked and stolen documents that Albregts said were privileged communications between Ronaldo and his lawyers.

“Dismissing the case for the inappropriate conduct of her attorney is a harsh result. But it is, unfortunately, the only appropriate sanction to ensure the integrity of the judicial process,” Albregts wrote in his recommendation to Judge Jennifer Dorsey, as per the Guardian reports. 

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Ronaldo’s lawyer Peter Christiansen welcomed the recommendation. In a statement, he, as per BBC, said, “We are pleased with the court’s detailed review of this matter and its willingness to justly apply the law to the facts and recommend dismissal of the civil case against Mr Ronaldo.”

A year after the alleged claim by the former teacher, Ronaldo reportedly paid the woman £290,000 (€321,000) to stop her from pressing criminal charges – ­which, if found guilty of, could have seen him jailed for life.

In October 2018, her lawyers revealed that the she experienced “depression, intrusive thoughts, considered suicide, abused alcohol, had difficulty maintaining personal relationships and employment” following the alleged attack, and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

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It should be noted that the court has so far not reached a decision on Ronaldo committing a crime and no evidence has been discovered that his attorneys “intimidated the woman or impeded law enforcement” when the formal teacher finalised the confidential settlement about a decade ago.

The 36-year-old footballer has gained the reputation of being one of the most successful players and has also served as the captain of the national Spanish team. Earlier this year, Ronaldo made a jump to his old English Premier League club Manchester United.