Police in Las Vegas have reopened a sexual assault investigation from 2009 at the request of a woman who has alleged she was raped by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Kathryn Mayorga says she was attacked by the Portuguese footballer in a hotel room in the US city that year.
Juventus forward Ronaldo, 33, has dismissed the claim, first reported in Germany’s Der Spiegel, as “fake news”.
His representatives said he would take legal action against the magazine.
In 2010, she reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo involving a $375,000 (£288,000) payment for agreeing never to go public with the allegations.
Her lawyers are now seeking to declare the non-disclosure agreement void.
Las Vegas police confirmed they had investigated a complaint in June 2009, but added they had no suspect in the case.
“As of September 2018, the case has been reopened and our detectives are following up on information being provided,” it added.
Ronaldo joined Italy’s Juventus from Real Madrid for £99.2m ($128m) earlier this year.
The Portuguese international is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.