Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the greatest footballer of all-time and enjoys being in the headlines for his game. However, the Manchester United striker has found himself in the middle of several controversies over his 20-year long career in professional football.
The most prolific goal scorer in the history of the game, Cristiano Ronaldo was signed by Spanish giants Real Madrid from Manchester United for a massive €94 million in July 2009 while he joined Serie A club Juventus in July 2018 on a whopping fee of €117 million.
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He is the all-time leading goal scorer in football as he is also the top scorer in international football and Champions League. With such a huge success in the game, Cristiano is entitled to several controversies on and off the ground. The love and hate relationship with fans is a part of a footballer's life.
Here are the five big controversies of Cristiano Ronaldo:
1. 2009 Rape Allegation
Cristiano Ronaldo has been accused of raping a woman named Kathryn Mayorga in the early hours of July 13 in 2009 in a Las Vegas hotel. She claimed through a letter that CR7 paid her $375,000 to remain silent over the issue. However, the veteran footballer has denied the accusations saying 'sex was consensual'. In June 2019, Las Vegas police department dropped the case and added that "no charges will be forthcoming". Later, Court documents revealed in April 2021 that she is claiming £56million in for “past pain, future pain and suffering, and in punitive damages.
2. Mysterious mother of Cristiano Ronaldo Jr
The most infamous controversy involving Cristiano Ronaldo is having a child with an unknown woman. The Portuguese forward stunned the world by announcing the birth of his first child in 2010. The child was named Cristiano Ronaldo Junior, however, the identity of his mother has been kept a secret to this date. Ronaldo claimed the full custody of his child and paid 10 Million pounds to the mysterious woman to not disclose her identity.
3. Guilty of evading tax
A Spanish court accused the 37-year-old forward of consciously evading the tax of 12.1 million pounds between 2011 and 2014. Cristiano accepted the accusation and a two-year jail term. However, the football star did not serve any time in prison as a sentence of two years or less than that do not carry jail term and can be served on probation, according to the Spanish rule.
4. Rumored gay affair with Moroccan boxer Badr Hari
A French Television claimed that the current Man United striker was having an alleged affair with the Moroccan boxer, Badr Hari. The news went viral in April 2016 as the television reported that Ronaldo made regular jet visits to Morocco after hard training sessions to enjoy cuddles and spend some quality time with his friend Badr Hari. However, the news was later termed to be a fake one as the news channels spiced it up to make it quite a reality.
5. Arrested on rape allegations in 2005
Cristiano Ronaldo was allegedly arrested for a raping a woman with another man at a central London hotel in 2005. Cristiano, obviously denied the allegations against him and later all the allegations against him were dropped by the Scotland Yard due to insufficiency of evidences against him.
Apart from them, Cristiano Ronaldo has always been in the middle of controversies as he questioned the level of his Real Madrid teammates on February 27, 2016. He was also involved in the controversial sent off of Wayne Rooney during the the 2006 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals.
