Francisco Seco/Associated Press
Cristiano Ronaldo has been left out of Portugal’s squad for the impending international break after holding talks with manager Fernando Santos, per CNN.com.
According to Portuguese newspaper Record (h/t ESPN’s Adriana Garcia), the pair have agreed with Portuguese federation president Fernando Gomes that Ronaldo will not feature in the games against Poland and Scotland or “through November,” so he may not appear for his national team again this year.
On Monday, it was announced that a 2009 investigation into a rape allegation made against Ronaldo was reopened by Las Vegas Police, although Garcia reported it is unclear if his absence from the Portugal team is related. Ronaldo also skipped international duty in September.
On Saturday, German magazine Der Spiegel named 34-year-old Kathryn Mayorga as Ronaldo’s accuser. Mayorga initially agreed a $375,000 settlement with Ronaldo to stop the allegations from going public, but she has now filed a lawsuit against Ronaldo and asked for the investigation to be reopened after seeking new legal advice.
Mayorga told police in 2009 that a man had raped her at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. At the time, Ronaldo was not named, but a Der Spiegel investigation published in April 2017 reported he had been accused of rape by an American woman in Las Vegas in 2009.
The 33-year-old denied the allegations in a pair of Twitter posts on Wednesday:
Cristiano Ronaldo @Cristiano
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
My clear conscious will thereby allow me to await with tranquillity the results of any and all investigations.
It has also been confirmed Lionel Messi will not return to action for Argentina this month having also been left out of the squad in September, so Ronaldo is not the only major star to miss consecutive international breaks following the FIFA World Cup.
In a press conference, Santos made clear the 33-year-old still has a future with Portugal: “In the future, nothing will prevent Ronaldo from contributing to the team.”
Despite his absence, Portugal beat Italy 1-0 in the UEFA Nations League last month and also drew 1-1 with World Cup finalists Croatia in a friendly.
Here’s a look at the fixtures he’s set to miss out on in the coming weeks:
ESPN FC @ESPNFC
Fernando Santos confirms that Cristiano Ronaldo will not play for Portugal until at least March 2019.
Full story: https://t.co/jsE8PxrAi0 https://t.co/CXiLv0vrin
Portuguese football writer Jan Hagen shared a look at the squad Santos has named for the first two matches:
Jan Fredrik Hagen @PortuBall
Official: Portugal’s squad to face Poland(Oct. 11th) and Scotland(Oct. 14th):
Rúben Neves and Renato Sanches keep their places, Euro 2016 hero Éder returns, while Wolves’ Hélder Costa gets his first ever Portugal call-up. As expected, no Cristiano Ronaldo. https://t.co/lCB929hDWS
Ronaldo is Portugal’s most-capped player and top scorer, having netted 85 times in 154 appearances.
He left Real Madrid for Juventus over the summer and has scored three goals and assisted five in eight appearances for the Bianconeri.
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