Football players have been accused of sexual misconduct in the media recently; many well-known players, including Mason Greenwood, Daniel Alves, and Cristiano Ronaldo, have also been charged with similar acts. Benjamin Mendy’s legal issues are just one of many cases.
We look at 6 football players who have been accused of sexual assault in the past, including Alves, who was just sentenced to jail.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Rondaldo, just a year after winning the Ballon d’Or as a Manchester United player in 2008, had a Las Vegas vacation experience with Kathryn Mayorga that would plague his reputation for years to come.
The then-24-year-old Portuguese superstar was accused of sexually assaulting Ms. Mayorga, a nightclub employee, was seen with the Manchester United attacker at the time of the incident. The forward refuted the accusations and said their meeting was consensual.
In spite of the denial, it was reported that Ronaldo paid Mayorga £287,000 in an out-of-court settlement for her confidentiality, which meant that the former model gave up her ability to file a criminal complaint against the football player.
In the end, Ronaldo was exonerated of the accusations in 2022 when a judge decided that the evidence used against the captain of the Portuguese national team had been collected unlawfully and could not have served as the foundation for his trial.
Neymar Junior
The former Paris Saint-Germain attacker, made headlines in the summer of 2019 when he posted a shocking video to Twitter claiming to have been charged with rape.
Najila Trindade, a Brazilian model, had claimed that the forward had attacked her in a Paris hotel, and the forward was clearly distressed as he explained the circumstances around his predicament.
After the unfortunate pair connected on Instagram, Neymar asked Trindade to Paris for a passionate night that eventually turned bad.
Trindade accused Neymar of forcing himself on her after finding herself drunk in their shared hotel room, reporting the event to the authorities in the hopes of bringing charges.
Neymar was eventually cleared of all charges, and Trindade was charged with defamation of character after she accused the Brazilian police of being corrupt.
Dani Alves
Alves, a close friend and former teammate of Neymar’s from Brazil, was found guilty of sexual assault recently. His case took on a darker tone than the former Santos stars’, as the ex-Barcelona star was given a four-year prison sentence.
Beginning in early 2023, Alves was on vacation in Barcelona when he was taken into custody on suspicion of sexual assault. The accuser, a 23-year-old, had claimed that the former Juventus and PSG defender had defiled her in a nightclub restroom.
Alves was eventually found guilty in a trial that spanned the entire month of February. The former right back, unlike many other players accused of assault, was repeatedly denied bail petitions and was placed under detention in prison while investigations were conducted.
Alves, in recent news, has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
Robinho
Robinho’s career came to an end when he was charged with sexual assault, which led to his imprisonment.
The former Brazilian winger Robinho, who became the first superstar to join for the blue half of Manchester after dazzling the world with his flashy skills at elite teams like Real Madrid and AC Milan, was found guilty for his involvement in the gang rape of an inebriated woman, and was given a nine-year sentence
Mason Greenwood
Mason Greenwood of Manchester United was arrested in January 2022 on suspicion of assault and coercive behavior. Since then, he has been a part of one of the most talked about and well publicized cycles of sexual assault allegations in modern football history.
The striking star’s case is unusual since the 21-year-old England international is still in a relationship with Harriet Robson, who has accused him of physical violence.
Robson released audio recordings and video of an argument with Greenwood, in which the Manchester United forward seemed to be forcing a sexual act on her.
Prosecutors, however, ultimately chose not to press charges against Greenwood after several important witnesses withdrew their testimonies.
The couple has since become engaged and parents to a child together.
Benjamin Mendy
Mendy, another former Manchester City star, was also recently accused of sexual assault by up to seven plaintiffs, claiming that the French defender and another defendant had raped them.
Mendy was charged in 2021; following his prior breach of bail bond agreements, the World Cup winner was placed under house arrest and suspended by Manchester City.
Mendy and an additional gathering Louis Saha Matturie was accused of several counts of rape and attempted rape, but the court rejected the accusers’ claims after they presented strong evidence that one of the accusers had had consensual sex with Matturie in an incident that was alleged to be rape.
The World Cup winner was released after a retrial on one charge of rape and a conviction on another for attempted rape. However, by the time the trial concluded, Mendy had left the Citizens.
