An American court has rejected the petition of a woman's lawyer, taking the side of Cristiano Ronaldo. In the petition, an attempt was made to force the football star to pay an amount of more than US$ 375,000 (about Rs 3 crore 12 lakh). The woman had accused Ronaldo of raping her in 2009.

A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based appellate court disagreed. Ronaldo is one of the richest players in the world. He plays for the Portugal national football team. Apart from this, he has also played for Spanish teams Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United at the club level. He is currently playing for Saudi Arabian League team Al Nasser.

Mayorga, a former Las Vegas-area teacher and model, was 25 when she met Ronaldo at a nightclub in 2009 and accompanied him and others to his hotel. She alleged in her suit, filed nearly a decade later, that the football star, then 24, had sexually assaulted her in the bedroom.