Portugal and Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo allegedly believes that he has fallen victim to a ruse created by his former club, Real Madrid, which includes recent rape allegations.
Nine-year relations between Ronaldo and the Spanish champions finally went downhill last December, Football Italia claims, citing the Italian daily La Repubblica. Back then, the club and its boss, Florentino Perez, failed to publicly express support for their star striker who thought that Real Madrid was responsible for the accounting mistake. This situation reportedly led to Ronaldo leaving the club for Juventus this summer.
The newspaper maintains that Ronaldo believes that Real Madrid is standing behind his black streak, which has seen him miss out on the FIFA's best player award to ex-teammate Luka Modric, receive a red card in this week's Champions League clash with Valencia, and face rape allegations as well as the prospect of multi-million claims from sponsors if the claims are proven.
Earlier this week, LA police confirmed they had reopened a case of an alleged rape, reported by a Nevada woman who said the 33-year-old football ace raped her in a Las Vegas hotel nine years ago and later paid her $375,000 in hush money. Ronaldo's sponsors, sportswear company Nike and video game maker Electronic Arts, voiced concerns over the allegations, which the footballer has vehemently denied.