Ronaldo 'asked to submit DNA sample' as part of case into Las Vegas rape allegations

Cristiano Ronaldo has been asked for a DNA sample by police in Las Vegas as they investigate allegations he raped US woman Kathryn Mayorga in the city in 2009.

Police reopened the case last year after Mayorga claimed she had been raped by the footballer in a hotel suite after a night spent partying.

Las Vegas law enforcement have now issued a warrant for Ronaldo's DNA, which they have sent to the authorities in Italy, where the forward plays for Juventus, the Wall Street Journal reports.   

Ronaldo firmly denies the claims and is prepared to offer full cooperation, US news outlet TMZ Sports said earlier on Thursday.

The Portuguese star's lawyer, Peter S. Christiansen, issued a statement saying that the warrant for DNA was "a standard request."

"Mr Ronaldo has always maintained, as he does today, that what occurred in Las Vegas in 2009 was consensual in nature, 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," Christiansen said to the BBC. 

The Juventus player has consistently denied any wrongdoing, saying in December that he was “calm” and “very confident that soon everything will be clear."          

Mayorga filed a lawsuit against the 33-year-old football superstar last year, saying she remained traumatized by her alleged ordeal and that she had been emboldened to take the step by the MeToo movement.

She says Ronaldo anally raped her after she rejected his advances in a penthouse suite. It is also claimed he sent a team of legal “fixers” to coerce Mayorga into signing a $375,00 hush money deal.

Ronaldo’s lawyers have said documents cited by some media outlets in reporting the case are “fabrications.”

READ MORE: Ronaldo lawyers confirm non-disclosure agreement, but say rape claims are ‘fabrications’

He has also firmly rejected recent claims by UK model Jasmine Lennard, who said on Twitter that she would “help” Mayorga with her case.

Ronaldo reportedly called Lennard's claims “false and defamatory,” while the model, meanwhile, has deleted her Twitter account.